


The Secret Side Of Me

by darkpanda22



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragon!Ray, Elf!Kerry, Eventual Gavin Free/Michael Jones, Eventual Jack Pattillo/Caiti Ward, Eventual Miles Luna/Kerry Shawcross, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fae!Caiti, Fae!Griffon, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Mermaid!Jon, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Not really a hybrid but kinda is, Werewolf!Jeremy, Wyvern!Matt, mentioned kdin jenzen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-04-12 04:54:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4466159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkpanda22/pseuds/darkpanda22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray wasn’t human. Not anymore. No matter how many times he looked in the mirror and saw the same body he had before reflecting back at him, he was hiding a form that would guarantee him a one way trip to a government testing facility. </p><p>Title from the song Monster by Skillet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Just Beneath The Skin

 

Ray wasn’t human. Not anymore. No matter how many times he looked in the mirror and saw the same body he had before reflecting back at him, he was hiding a form that would guarantee him a one way trip to a government testing facility. It all started one night in New York…

 

~-~

 

Ray was whistling as he walked back home from work, around one in the morning when he was grabbed by two arms. He fought against the grip but it seemed whatever was holding him didn’t even flinch at his poundings. He was thrown into a van, kicking and screaming until the glint of a gun in the low light shut his mouth for good. He tried to reach for his phone slowly, to call 911 or just _someone_ that would help but found the phone was gone. He gulped and looked back at the huge shadowy figure that had thrown him into the van and held back a cry as it’s sharp teeth gleamed in the passing streetlights, his cellphone resting in one of it’s _clawed_ hands. Ray, however, let the tears fall silently as he wished for anyone to see him in the back of the suspicious looking van and help him but his hopes were for naught as soon enough, they made it to where ever they had been going.

 

 

The van jerked to a stop and the thing stepped out into the light and Ray couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It had a human like face and body other than the clawed hands and the clawed almost bird like feet and large wings that resembled a demon’s. The creature was something out of a mythical legend and Ray didn’t know how to react as it grabbed him and dragged him to the back of a tall building. Ray took the chance to look back at who or _what_ had been driving them and his eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. A giant man sat at the wheel but when he turned his head the thing only had one eye and it was smirking at him as the gargoyle dragged him into the building. Ray’s brain was fried and it only got worse when the thing opened a number locked door (Ray made sure to remember the four numbers it put in) and dragged him through cages and cells filled with things Ray had only seen in fairy tales. He gulped as the gargoyle threw him onto a table and tried to strap him down. He fought against it until it punched him in the face, knocking his glasses off his face and making him woozy. The gargoyle finally strapped him down and wondered away, coming back moments later with a human in a lab coat.

 

“Ah! Thank you Charles. He’s perfect. I must get to work before our _friend_ here, starts asking questions.” Ray’s head was spinning and everything was blurry now, his glasses still laying forgotten on the floor.

 

‘Work?’ He wanted to ask but there was a needle in his arm before he could speak and slowly sleep began to overtake him. ‘No! I need to stay awake!’ But despite this, he couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer and as they closed, the last thing he saw was the grinning gargoyle and mad scientist staring at him with a look of excitement and cruel intentions.

 

~-~

 

Waking up hurt Ray all over. He sat up slowly, finding himself in one of the many cells he had saw walking in and taking in his surroundings he found they had put him in a room with a small window, moonlight streaming through it, in between two empty cages. He frowned and went to rub his head when a brown claw went up to his head instead of his hand. Freaking out, Ray looked down at himself, almost chocking at what he saw. Those mother*ckers had turned him into a dragon! Huge brown wings rested behind him and a long brown tail twitched back and forth showing his anxiousness. He frowned, wishing hard to turn back into a human and that this was just a dream and surprisingly, when he opened his eyes he was looking down at his hands and smiled wide and he stood, turning all around, looking himself over, and pulling his glasses back over his nose to get a better look. His grin slowly fell as he realized that he was still in the cage with no one to help him.

 

He frowned and started trying to figure out a way to get out, only for that mad scientist to come down the hall and frown as he stared into Ray’s cage. “You’re not a dragon..What did I do wrong? D*ammit. Now I have to revise my serum.”

 

“The hell, man?! Why the f*ck did you kidnap me?!?” The mad man just frowned deeply, ignoring Ray completely

 

“And you still remember Charles bringing you here. I really messed up…CHARLES!” Ray huffed, neither parties noticing the gray smoke that escaped his nose as the gargoyle from before slinked down the hall. It made a weird noise that the mad man seemed to understand

 

“Take him back to where you got him. The serum didn’t work so he isn’t much help to me now. Make sure he doesn’t tell anybody about this place. Or I’ll assign a fairy to keep watch over him.” Another noise and the gargoyle was unlocking his cage and dragging him away, back to the back door and to the same white van with the cyclops driving. He was thrown in the back again and the gargoyle seemed much angrier than before as it grabbed him and glared holes into Ray with it’s bright red eyes before it tossed Ray out of the van roughly. There was another weird noise and just as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished living Ray confused, tired and scared. 

 

~-~

 

Ray ran home after that, finding he had been asleep for much longer than he thought. He'd been gone for about three weeks and nobody seemed to notice. It was a fact that hurt Ray more than he thought it would. The people he though were his friends hadn't even batted an eyelash at him being missing. And it was safe to say he got fired from his job because of his so called friends. And to make matters worse, he found out that he could shift in between his normal body and the dragon he woke up as in that cell weeks later. The money started draining away quicker than he hoped for and soon enough he was on the verge of losing his apartment when his YouTube channel started picking up.

 

He met a friend, a guy by the name of Michael Jones, who loved to scream at video games with more anger than Ray thought was possible. They got along better than Ray had ever with anyone else in New York. A month into their online friendship Michael began to insist that they meet face to face. At first, Ray didn’t want to ever meet Michael face to face, knowing that the man would find out he could turn into a dragon and kick him to the curb. But Michael kept insisting, so they finally met face to face, and Ray was so glad he finally met Michael. They got closer and played together more while Ray was getting better at hiding his dragon side. 

 

Then Michael got an email from Rooster Teeth. Ray was more than happy to move out to Texas with Michael, meaning he could get away from that mad man that was still in New York somewhere, no doubt. So they moved down, finding an apartment together close to the building. Michael went into work every day and some days Ray would visit, playing games and doing videos with the other members of Rooster Teeth and Achievement Hunter, until Ray was offered a job as well. He took it gladly, having made friends with most of the people there already. Everything was fine until he was on a podcast with Joel. This was the start of the sharp turn his life was gonna take.

 


	2. I Feel The Rage & I Just Can't Hold It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray is on the podcast with Gavin, Jack Burnie and Joel when his life gets even more complicated.

 

It started like a normal day. He got up, took a shower got dressed and rode with Michael to work. As they walked into work, Gus informed him he would be on the podcast of the day since Michael had to record Rage Quit and he sighed but nodded, walking back to office. He did some editing, they recorded a few videos and soon enough, it was time for the podcast. He sighed again as he made his way to the podcast room, the nerves from earlier making his stomach flip all over the place. Something would happen in this podcast and Ray didn’t know what it was. He was absolutely terrified that that something would involve his dragon form but he had to push those thoughts from his head.

 

Kara stepped over to him and smiled kindly, noticing Ray’s nervousness, and told him where to sit and someone started hooking his microphone up and he sighed in relief when Gavin and Jack landed heavily next to him on the sofa. Then Burnie sat to his right and Joel sat down to the left of Jack in the two chairs. They all chatted mindlessly but Ray found his eyes lingering on Joel more often than not. He’d always curse internally and look away before anybody noticed and to his horror, this was how it continued into the podcast. Ray had to tear his eyes away from Joel every time he wasn’t talking and the task was much easier said than done for him. Ray forced himself to joke like normal with his friends but it was obvious Ray was being quiet, though he could pass it off as him being how he normally was in let’s plays when he was concentrated on the game.

 

~-~

 

At the end of the podcast, Ray waited until they unplugged everything from him until he bolted from the room, the excuse of having to pee making everyone laugh as he actually ran out of the room. When he made it to the bathroom, he was breathing heavily as he locked the door behind him and slid down the door.

 

‘No no no no no no no! I can’t like Joel! I can’t like anyone! No one would like me if they found out what I was cursed with..’ His eyes filled with tears and he covered his mouth holding back a sob as that thought hit him right in the heart. All the friends he’d made here, turning their backs on him when they found out he could turn into a dragon. It was heart breaking but he knew it to happen. So he wiped his tears and stood, pulling on a blank face as he walked back into the Achievement Hunter office and sat at his desk, starting on editing a video and ignoring everyone around him. They could all see the Ray’s bloodshot eyes and Michael kept trying to catch Ray’s line of sight but it stayed glued to the computer screen in front of him.

 

~-~

 

He only looked up when Michael’s hand landed heavily on his shoulder. He took his headphones off and looked up at him. “Yeah?”

 

“You ready to go?” Ray blinked and looked at the clock, finding he had worked through the whole day.

 

“Uh- Yeah. Give me a minute to shut down my computer.” Michael just nodded and wondered over to Gavin’s desk where he was not so patiently waiting for Geoff to finish before they could leave. Ray saved all his work and shut down the computer, grabbing a few things before walking up to the two. Michael glanced at him and frowned as Ray looked away from him. Michael and Gavin shared a look before Michael and Ray said their goodbyes and walked to Michael’s car in silence.

 

Michael didn’t say anything until they got into the car. “Alright. What’s up, Ray?”

 

“Nothing.” His voice was as sharp as a knife, showing just how much he didn’t want to talk about it.

 

“It isn’t ‘nothing’ when you’re sitting over there with red eyes and a f*cking attitude. Just tell me what’s wrong, Ray. I can’t help you if you don’t.” Ray’s shoulders tensed up and he hid his face from view.

 

“You’d think I’m crazy..then you’d all run from me. I’d be alone again and I don’t think I can handle that so just forgot about it Michael.”

 

Michael huffed “Where the hell did you get that idea from?! Ray I’ve known you for years! Me and everyone else at Rooster Teeth love you. We’d never abandon you, so, just tell me what’s f*cking wrong, please.”

 

Ray sunk deeper in his seat. “I can’t Michael. Just leave it.”

 

“Ray, please-”

 

“NO!” Ray exploded, and Michael swore grey smoke was coming out of his nose as he continued “I CAN’T TELL YOU SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE.” This was the first time Ray had ever screamed at him like that and was actually angry, so Michael just sighed as Ray breathed heavily.

 

“Fine. But I just want you to know that if you want to talk to somebody then, I’m right here, alright?”

 

Ray huffed, turning away from Michael and staring out the window. “Yeah, sure.” The ride was tense, with Ray still angry, not just at Michael but at his whole situation, though, Michael didn’t know that.

 

~-~

 

When they arrived at the apartment, Ray rushed into his room and stayed there. He shifted into his dragon form after the door was locked and his clothes and glasses were off, staring at himself in the mirror. In this form he could make himself as big or as small as he wanted and now he was at a small size sitting on the counter, looking over his elongated neck, sharp claws and brown wings, his under belly a light shade of tan that resembled the skin tone of his human body. Brown eyes with black slits stared back at him and he sighed, wisps of fire shooting out with grey smoke on accident. He shut his long snout and shifted back into his normal form. “F*ck me.” He shuffled over to his bed and laid down, not bothering to put any clothes on as he dove under the covers.

 


	3. In My Body, In My Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray yells at the crew. Joel happens to stumble in and add more worries to Ray's list.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, trying out some new spacing. I was told in another fic that this is easier to read so let me know what you think about it!

 

Ray woke to knocking on his door. He frowned, pulling on his glasses, and giving a groggy “What?”

 

Michael’s voice reached his ears and memories from yesterday came rushing back. “I uh just wanted to make sure you were up. We have to go to work in an hour.”

 

Ray sighed, knowing his outburst had only made Michael want to figure out what was wrong more but he just shook his head and said “Alright. Thanks.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

Ray waited until Michael’s footsteps left his door and went down the hall again before he stood and made his way to the shower. After his shower, he got dressed and dragged himself to work, the weight of the situation seeming to hold his shoulders to the floor. Michael immediately noticed Ray’s sour mood but didn’t say anything, knowing that would just end in a screaming match.

 

They drove to work in silence and Michael wanted to pull his hair out by the time they entered the office. Ray walked right over to his computer and started editing after a quick wave to Geoff and Gavin. Michael tugged Gavin out of the room with the excuse to get drinks from the kitchen but Ray just ignored them, knowing they were going to be talking about him. ‘I should’ve just lied..or something. So they wouldn’t be suspicious. F*ck now they’ll all be bugging me about it.’ He sighed and leaned forward, trying to focus more on the screen than his thoughts and it worked. He didn’t notice when Michael and Gavin came back that Gavin grabbed Geoff and left for a few minutes, then when they returned, Geoff stopped Jack and Ryan at the door and took them away for a few minutes.

 

He didn’t notice anything until Geoff’s hand was on his shoulder many hours later. “Yeah, boss?”

 

Geoff looked at him for a long moment, making Ray raise a brow at his staring. “We’re about to record a few videos. You up for it?”

 

Ray nodded, still looking at Geoff weirdly as he said slowly “Yeah..What are we recording so I can get it set up?”

 

“Minecraft.”

 

Ray suppressed a huff (That smoke came out whenever it wanted too) but turned and booted up the game, setting his recording software up as well. Geoff watched him for another moment before he stepped away from Ray's desk and went back to his. The recording started moments later. 

 

~-~

 

Ray noticed the change immediately.

 

They would just watch him or glance at him more than usual. By the third week, Ray had, had enough of the looks. “Alright, stop it. All of you.” They glanced between each other confused but it just made Ray frown more. “The f*cking staring! Stop it! It’s annoying. I’m fine, you don’t have to stare at me.”

 

Geoff started “I don’t know what your talking-“ but Ray cut in with a glare.

 

“Don’t give me that sh*t. I know Michael told you and I’ll tell you what I told him, I. Can’t. F*cking. Tell. You. So leave it alone! I’m fine.” With that he turned back to his computer, knowing all of them were staring at him again, but after a minute they went back to editing and nobody said a word until lunch time rolled around. Ray refused every invitation to lunch and soon enough he was on his own in the office, playing Black Ops to keep his thoughts off of his friends.

 

Some time after everyone left there was knock on the door and Ray frowned, keeping his eyes on the screen. “It’s open!” There was some shuffling before Ray almost jumped out of his skin when he realized who it was.

 

“Oh, hey Ray. I’m guessing they all went to lunch already?”

 

Ray swallowed hard and nodded, clearing his throat a bit as his character on screen died for the first time. “Hey, Joel. Yeah, Uh- They left a few minutes ago.”

 

Joel nodded, staying quiet for a moment as he shuffled over to Michael’s desk. “Mind if I..?” He trailed off and Ray shook his head, his character dying again.

 

“Nah. Go ahead.” Joel sat down next to him, scooting the chair over a bit to watch Ray play. Though the closer he got, the worst Ray seemed to get. His hands were sweaty and he kept his eyes glued to the screen so he wouldn’t stare at the older man next to him. He’d curse every time he died, aware of Joel glancing between him and the game.

 

“So…” Joel pauses. Headshot, Ray's character fell limp yet again. “Why aren’t you at lunch, Ray?”

 

 

Respawn, run two feet and die again. “I uh- wasn’t hungry.”

 

Joel raised a brow in disbelief “Not hungry? But you never turn down free food.”

 

Ray cursed as his character died again. “Yeah. I uh- just wasn’t hungry.” It was a lie that his stomach decided to prove wrong at that moment as it rumbled louder than it ever had.

 

Joel just laughed as Ray paused the game and set his controller down. “So you _are_ hungry. Now what was the real reason you didn’t want to go to lunch?”

 

Ray just sighed, knowing when it came to Joel he never could hide anything for a long time. It still ate him up that he couldn’t tell Joel about the whole dragon thing but it was for good reason so he kept his mouth shut. “I uh- kinda yelled at the guys..”

 

Joel immediately gained a look of concern that made Ray’s heart pound in his ears. “About what? What happened?”

 

Ray sighed “They think something’s wrong with me but I’m fine and they kept staring at me for weeks. I just couldn’t handle it anymore..”

 

Joel furrowed his brows as he said “Are you sure? They wouldn’t worry for no reason.” Ray frowned, looking away from him “I’m sure Joel. I’m okay.”

 

Joel looked at him for a long moment, knowing that Ray was keeping something from him but as he opened his mouth to speak, the door opened and Geoff locked eyes with Joel. Ray seemed to shrink in on himself as he glued his eyes to the screen again. Joel noticed and frowned, scribbling something on a post it note on Ray’s desk and shuffling out of the office.

 

Ray grabbed the note before anyone could look at it and mixed feelings rose in his heart at it’s contents.  _'XXX-XXX-XXXX If you want to talk, I’m one phone call away, Ray.’_   Ray folded up the note and slipped it in his pocket, away from curious eyes and glued his eyes to the screen again.

 


	4. I Keep It Caged But I Can't Control It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael catches Ray in a compromising position. Chinese food and talks ensue. 
> 
>  
> 
> P.S: I'm starting college tomorrow so I'll apologize in advance for very very slow updates.

The office stayed quiet until the end of the day, everyone editing the whole day. Then, Michael’s hand was on his shoulder and Ray didn’t have to be told to shut down his computer to head home. He rushed out to Michael’s car, some of him wanting to call Joel, but most of him not wanting to even pick up the phone. He was terrified to tell anyone about what had happened to him and he dreaded the day his friends found out as they wouldn’t be in his life anymore, he was sure of that. So he pulled the note out, re reading the note a few times before slipping it back into his pocket. Once they made it home, Ray went right to his room, locking the door. He sighed, staring at the note again before he pulled off his clothes and glasses, shifting into his dragon form, looking at his claws for a moment. Then the door opened, and Ray forgot how to breathe as Michael stared at him wide eyed. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he raced to the bathroom and closed the door, shifting back into his normal form and hugging his knees to his chest.

 

“…R-ray? W-was that you?” Ray wanted to cry. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen! He didn’t want to lose them already! Why didn’t he remember that Michael had a spare key?!? “Ray…? Ray please answer me..”

 

He sniffled, finally answering Michael “Y-yeah. Yeah Michael..”

 

“Come out, Ray.”

 

Ray frowned “In- In my human form? If so I don’t have any clothes..”

 

Michael hesitated for a moment “In- In your uh- how you were a second ago..” Ray sighed, shifting back into a dragon and carefully opening the door, stepping out of the bathroom with his head down and tears still falling. Michael gasped as he came into view and stepped toward him. “Can I..?”

 

Ray looked at Michael in confusion “You’re- You’re not scared?”

 

Michael frowned “A little but you’re my best friend. I know you wouldn’t hurt me intentionally.” Ray was shocked at that answer, It hit him right in the gut as he realized Michael wasn’t gonna stop being his friend because he could turn into a dragon. Slowly, a smile made it’s way onto Ray’s dragon face and Michael snorted, finally touching one of Ray’s wings.

 

“Is this what you’ve been freaking out about? Thought we’d abandon you when we found out?” Ray sat down in front of Michael so he could mess with his horns.

 

“Mostly...Everyone else has run away from me when they found out.”

 

Michael frowned “Now, they probably didn’t know you well enough because you’re too nice for your own good! Plus this is f*cking cool! You’re a mother*cking dragon, dude!”

 

Ray laughed, that grey smoke escaping his mouth with it. “I knew I wasn’t crazy! I saw this f*cking smoke come out of your nose when we were arguing that day in the car!”

 

Ray just shrugged “Ah, that smoke has a mind of it’s own. I’m not surprised, it just seeps out of me whenever it wants to.”

 

 

Michael and Ray fell into a comfortable silence before Michael started asking questions. “So..How’d it happen? And what all can you do as a dragon??”

 

Ray could see Michael practically vibrating in excitement and laughed again, this time little wisps of fire and smoke escaped his mouth. “How about I answer the second question now and we’ll talk about the first one over dinner?”

 

Michael was more than happy to agree. “So I can breathe fire and fly, of course, but I can also change my size.” As he said it, he shrinking small enough to fly up and sit on Michael’s head.

 

“This is so f*cking cool, dude..!” Ray chuckled again from his perch in Michael’s curly hair.

 

“Yeah, I guess.” He jumped out of Michael’s hair and landed on the ground again, growing back to a few sizes smaller than his normal form. (His normal form is as big as a house, he learned that the hard way.)

 

“Now get out so I can get dressed and we can get some food.”

 

Michael rolled his eyes, playfully punching dragon Ray in his side. “Yeah, sure. You better f*cking hurry up! I wanna know everything, Ray!”

 

It was Ray’s turn to roll his eyes as he waved a claw at Michael. “Yeah, yeah. I’m tell you when I eat some food.”

 

Michael laughed as he stood, making his way to the door “You’re always hungry!”

 

Ray pouted the best he could with his dragon face “Are you calling me fat??”

 

Michael laughed again “Maybe.”

 

Ray laughed and flopped back on his back “Nah, look at me. I’m f*cking fat.”

 

They laughed again and Michael finally closed the door with a yell of “Hurry the f*ck up, Ray!” Ray chuckled to himself, as he shifted back into his human form and pulled on some clothes. Ray was ecstatic. Michael hadn’t kicked him out, instead wanted to know what he could do and how it happened. It was a reaction he had never gotten before and it excited him. He hoped that the other people of Rooster Teeth would react the same, especially Joel..Speaking of Joel, Ray picked up the note again, putting the phone number in his phone before he put the note away and headed out the room, just as Michael got off the phone with the delivery place he was ordering dinner from.

 

“I hope Chinese is good? We had pizza for lunch today.”

 

Ray nodded “That’s fine. I didn’t eat anything.”

 

Michael nodded, a slight frown on his face as he sat down on the sofa, gesturing for him to come sit too. So he did, leaning back on the arm of the sofa, looking at Michael’s thoughtful expression. “Can you answer a few of my questions while we wait?”

 

Ray shrugged “Sure, I guess.”

 

Michael nodded “So..were you- could you change into a dragon when I first met you?”

 

Ray nodded “So you’ve been able to do it all your life? Or…what?”

 

Ray frowned, memories of the cells filled with different things how could’ve only dreamed of. “No..I was uh- kidnapped..coming back from work in New York. It was why I lost my job..”

 

Michael gaped at him “Kidnapped?! You mean somebody made you turn into a dragon?”

 

Ray nodded “It was- crazy..I saw things that- that I only heard of in fairytales. The mad man had everything; fairies in jars, mermaids in giant fish bowls, centaurs in cages, ogres in cells. It messed me up, Michael. A gargoyle grabbed me and threw me into a van and a cyclops drove us to this huge building where I saw the mad man behind it all. He gave some kind of medicine to put me to sleep and three weeks later I woke up I was in my dragon form. Like any-” Ray was cut off by a knock on the door and Michael huffed at the interruption. Ray chuckled as Michael stalked over to the door, payed the man, took the food and slammed the door in his face.

 

“Now, continue.” Michael said as he handed Ray his food and the two started to eat while Ray continued to talk.

 

“As I was saying, Like any normal person I closed my eyes and wished that it was all a dream and I was human again. Surprisingly, I was human again when I opened my eyes and I was so confused but then the mad man came to my cage and mumbled to himself, ignoring my screaming at him to tell me why he had me kidnapped. Then he called the gargoyle and told it to take me back to where it had found me. So, It took me back to the street it had grabbed me from almost strangling me as a warning to not tell anybody about the place. A few weeks after I got back home, I realized I could shift back and forth and I stayed inside after that. I didn’t want them to find out that I could turn into a dragon because who knows what that f*ck would do to me..But yeah. That’s how this all started.”

 

Michael shook his head “That f*ck..Just ruining people’s lives like that! I understand why you were so secretive now, sorry.” Ray shook his head “No, it’s fine. You were gonna find out at one point.”

 

 


	5. It Comes Awake & I Just Can't Control It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray's ready to tell everyone else after a talk with Michael. But then he levels up his dragon form. Michael thinks it's a dragon puberty.

 

There was a long moment of silence before Michael was talking again. “Earlier..I asked you if the dragon thing was what had you freaking out and you said ‘mostly’ what else is bothering you?” Ray immediately blushed, stuffing food into his mouth. Michael raised a brow before it clicked and he laughed “Oh my god you like somebody!!”

 

Ray swallowed the food and frowned “Shut up! So what..”

 

“Who is it? Who is it??” Ray ducked his head, his food muffling his answer. “What was that? Come on you f*ck! I wanna know!” Michael laughed as Ray blushed darker

 

“I said, Joel…”

 

Michael gaped at him “Joel? As in Joel Heyman?”

 

Ray ducked his head again and mumbled “Yeah..”

 

Michael shook his head “Can’t say I’m surprised with how much you were staring at him in the podcast.”

 

Ray cringed “That obvious?”

 

Michael laughed “Very. But I don’t think Joel knows because, well, he’s Joel.”

 

Ray smiled and looked down at his half eaten food. “He uh- gave me his number. Though it was because I can’t really keep a secret from Joel and it’s a f*cking miracle he doesn’t know about the whole dragon thing, but anyway, He knows when I’m not telling him things.”

 

Michael nodded, remaining silent for a moment “You know, I think you should tell him…about both the dragon thing and liking him. Maybe not at the same time but, you should tell him.”

 

Ray frowned putting his food on the table in front of him “I don’t know, Michael. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell him ever since we became friends. I probably wouldn’t have told you for a while if you hadn’t walked in a saw me. I just- ugh.” He groaned, resting his head in his hands.

 

Michael pat him on the back reassuringly “Ask him out to lunch or something and tell him then. Maybe invite him over and I’ll go over to Geoff’s and hang out with Gavin. He’s had his panties in a bunch since you started being quieter than usual.” Ray frowned, not noticing Michael's blush return at the mention of Gavin.

 

“I’ll have to tell the guys too…I know they’re all worried.”

 

Michael frowned, nodding “Yeah, especially Geoff. But hey, I’ll help you out if you want.”

 

Ray smiled and looked back at Michael “Thanks, dude.”

 

Michael returned his smile “No problem, man. When are you thinking about telling them?”

 

“Uh- Probably tomorrow. I want to get it over with and I know they’re all worried. We’ll just wait until everybody gets together and I’ll tell them then.”

 

Michael nodded “Alright. Well, that’s enough about that. You up for some Halo?”

 

Ray smiled wide “Hell yeah! You ready to get your *ss kicked?”

 

Michael snickered, standing up and turning on the Xbox, popping in Halo and grabbing the controllers “Nah, son! You ‘bout to get f*cking destroyed!”

 

Ray grinned and took the controller eagerly. “Psh, yeah okay. We’ll see, dude.”

 

Everything fell back into it’s normal pace, like Ray was human still and he hadn’t just showed Michael he could turn into a dragon, and Ray was so happy. He just hoped the guys reacted like Michael had.  

 

~-~

 

The next morning was hell for Ray. When he woke up there was pit of dread in his stomach that he couldn’t shake. He’d paced around his room for most of the morning, big clouds of grey smoke tumbling from his nose nonstop. Once or twice a sigh would escape as well as a few wisps of fire from his mouth, his human skin becoming itchy as his anxiety rose by the seconds. It was only till Michael barged into his room, expecting a fire only to find Ray pacing with trails of smoke behind him.

 

“God d*mmit Ray! I thought there was a fire! Don’t f*cking scare me like that, dude!” Ray’s answer was only another sigh as he stopped his pacing for the first time since he was fully dressed, smoke now filling his room to the brim. Michael waved some of the smoke out of his face as he took in Ray’s pale face and wide eyes with a frown. “Hey. You alright man?”

 

Ray wanted to pull his hair out as his head abruptly started to throb painfully, like something was trying to force it’s way out. “No..” He whimpered, falling to his knees and clutching his head in his hands.

 

Michael could only watch as Ray curled into a ball, heaving as he was forcefully transformed into his dragon form, ripping his clothes and shoes to pieces in the process. His claws still clutched his head and he was still in a ball, screams of pain rippling through the air as Michael watched in horror and worry. Ray’s scales began to ripple, a bright purple starting in his head and coving his whole body, much like dropping a stone into a lake. It started slow but got faster by the second and then Ray was changing right before Michael’s eyes. The small, friendly looking dragon Ray used to look like was rapidly turning more frightening and intimidating than Michael liked to admit. Horns and spikes sat atop Ray’s dragon head now, his wings much larger than before (even in his shrunken state) and more feather-like, and his tail much longer with more spikes at the end. Ray had had turned into a dragon you only hear described in legends. Michael would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared, but his friend needed him, so he took a step forward as Ray’s cries of pain stopped. “R-ray? You okay, man?”

 

The now super dragon, groaned, and Ray sat up, rubbing his head. His vision was blurry in this form, so he croaked out “Glasses..Water..” Michael grabbed his glasses from the floor, having to climb on Ray’s bed to reach his head while Ray still sat on the floor, exhausted after his changes, before Michael left to get the water. Once his glasses were on Ray was pleased to be able to see again only to gasp as he looked down at himself. Standing, he craned his neck to look behind him, which wasn’t hard with his elongated neck, and took in all his changes. He just stood there for a while, looking over himself when Michael came back with a glass of water. He downed it with the flick of his mouth opening, showing off his new, longer tongue and tossing the water down his throat followed by a sigh. “Thanks Michael.”

 

Michael nodded looking at him curiously “So…what was that all about?”

 

Ray shrugged, a little frown marring his face as the only indication that he was just as nervous and confused about it as Michael was. “I- I honestly don’t know, man. I just- when I woke up I felt so- so _weird_. I don’t know how to describe it honestly but, it was something I’d never really felt before then I started worrying about everyone’s reactions to me being about to turn into a dragon and then I thought about Joel and-“ He cut himself off when realized he was rambling.

 

Michael just gave him a knowing look “Maybe your stress was part of what caused this? Or maybe it was a dragon puberty, I don’t f*cking know but you were more worried about what Joel would think, weren’t you?” Ray nodded, looking down at his clawed feet, thoughts idly resting on the fact that he ruined the good pair of shoes he was wearing before he shook the thought from his head. Bigger fish to fry, Ray.

 

“Hey, man, it’s okay to be nervous about liking someone, believe or not it uh- happens to me too.” Michael blushed a bit and Ray raised an invisible brow in question but Michael effectively ignored the look in favor of clearing his throat and continuing. “But really, I see how you look at Joel and I see how Joel looks at you. You got a bond there, man. And I know for a fact that Joel will take your secret even better than I did. As well as the other guys, so stop worrying so much. Leave that to Geoff.” Ray chuckled, felling a little more relaxed now and more hopeful about his day. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.

 

 


	6. I'm Gonna Lose Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray gets really frustrated by his fellow Achievement Hunters but he finally gets to tell them and Joel.

 

 

Ray was absolutely wrong.

 

Every time he got ready to try and get all the guys together in one room, someone would be pulled away just as he would open his mouth and it frustrated Ray to no end. By the end of the day he was stewing in his seat, so frustrated he knew that smoke would start escaping any minute now but he just couldn’t help it. Failed attempt after failed attempt to try to get the weight off his shoulders and the only one who could see it was Michael. He would glance at him in concern, watching the man sink further and further into his seat.

 

Until finally, the end of the day arrived and Jack got up to leave, Ray snapped. “NO. NOBODY’S F*CKING LEAVING THIS GOD D*MN ROOM.” Jack stopped midstep and everyone looked at Ray in shock. He stood and stomped over to the door, locking it and turning back to the group. “I’ve been trying _all f*cking day_ to get you f*cks together in a room so I can talk to you but you all kept getting pulled away! F*ck I know your busy with whatever sh*t you gotta do but this is f*cking important, okay?! So sit down and shut up until I’m done alright?!”

 

They had never heard Ray yell so much in his life and it made them pay more attention, even Jack stepped back to his chair and sat down. Ray took a breath, visibly relaxing a little as all but one set of eyes stared at him curiously. “When I tell you guys this, don’t laugh because it’s one hundred percent true no matter how weird it sounds.”

 

His answer was nods from everyone to continue with Michael sending him a reassuring smile. So he began from the beginning. He told his story again, for all the guys to hear. He could see the disbelief in their faces even as he finished so he sighed “I knew you guys wouldn’t believe me. Guess I’ll have to show you.”

 

He frowned and grabbed his bag from his desk (making sure to take off his shoes this time), sitting it on the couch behind him before he closed his eyes and shifted into the super dragon that scared the ever living sh*t out of Michael. Eyes widened around the room as Ray’s clothes ripped up yet again, exposing his scale-y form, long tail and huge wings. Ray looked around the room as the transformation was complete, awaiting any kind of response. “Do you believe me now?” He asked and there was a long moment a silence before Geoff stood up and stepped up to Ray’s dragon form

 

“Do you mind If I-?” Ray cut him off with a smile as he pushed his wing toward Geoff and as his hand made contact with Ray’s wing, it was like a light switch had been turned on and suddenly he was bombarded with acceptance and _slightly_ embarrassing questions.

 

( **“Do you still have a dick as a dragon?” Ray had blushed red and ignored him but Michael shoot Gavin a glare “GAVIN!” He wacked him in the back of the head as he whined “Aww Mi-cool! What was that for?!”** )

 

After Ray made a swift exit to the nearest closet, he changed back and pulled on his clothes and stepped out only to run right into the one and only, Joel Heyman.

 

“Oh, sorry I wasn’t- Ray?”

 

Ray gulped and tried to swallow his nerves “H-hey Joel. H-how ya been man?”

 

Joel raised a brow at his stuttering but he was happy to see Ray so he smiled “I’ve been good. You?”

 

Ray looked down at his shoes “Uh- Good. I’ve been good.”

 

There was a moment of silence before Joel was looking at him seriously “You know I meant what I said right?”

 

Ray bit his lip and nodded, a move that Joel’s eyes lingered on far too long and Ray felt a bit of hope well up in his chest. “A-actually I wanted to know if you wanted to come over today? Michael going to stay with Gavin so I thought we could uh- talk then..If that’s fine?”

 

Ray could of died happy right there on the spot just seeing Joel’s eyes light up and the smile that graced his lips. “Yeah- yeah sounds great. Do you wanna just leave now or are you staying late?”

 

Ray shook his head “Hell no, not staying late today. Gavin’s staying late, let’s go.” Gavin’s endless stream of embarrassing questions would make him want to burn him to a crisp, and they couldn’t have that could they? Joel chuckled as Ray grabbed his hand and started to drag him out of the office, realizing what he was doing just as they entered the parking lot, Ray retracted his hand “S-sorry.”

 

Joel just smiled and shook his head, mumbling “It’s fine.” As he intertwined their fingers together again.

 

Ray tried to hide his red cheeks and smile but Joel saw and that only spurred Joel’s heart faster against his chest. Ray walked side by side with Joel, their hands swinging a bit only because of Ray, all the way to Joel’s car. Joel unlocked the car, letting go of Ray’s hand as they both got in the car. They drove in a somewhat comfortable silence, and when they reached Ray and Michael’s apartment, Ray felt his nerves return.  What if Joel didn’t take the news like everyone else? It was eating at him and by the time they got into the apartment, Joel could tell Ray was nervous. They sat down on the sofa in silence for a little while, with Ray trying to figure out how to start and Joel smiled reassuringly at him.

 

“So what’s wrong, Ray?”

 

Ray frowned and sighed “Uh- Well, I’ve been hiding something from y-you and everyone else..” Ray fell silent again and Joel grabbed his hand.

 

“You don’t have to tell me if you aren’t ready too.”

 

Ray shook his head “No, no..I’m ready. I just- Okay, here goes.” Ray took a deep breath before he continued “Icanturnintoadragon!” He spit out and Joel blinked, not thinking he heard him correctly.

 

“What? You’re gonna have to repeat that.”

 

Ray frowned “I can turn into a dragon..” Joel squinted his eyes at him, clearly not believing what he said so Ray looked down at his hands and started from the beginning. He told Joel about getting kidnapped, about seeing all those different creatures, about the mad man who did it too him and how he was gone for three weeks and nobody thought to check on him. He told him how youtube saved him from being homeless, about how he met Michael, and about everything else. Joel’s face turned from one of disbelief to concern and confusion as he looked at Ray, who still had his gaze firmly on his hands. After Ray stopped talking, there was a long stretch of silence.

 

“So you can turn into a dragon because this crazy scientist did something to you in New York?” Ray nodded and Joel sighed “I- I don’t- I’m really confused right now.”

 

Ray frowned deeply and started taking off his shoes and socks, then he pulled his shirt off, blushing brightly as Joel stared at him. But he stood and closed his eyes, shifting easily into his dragon form, ripping up his pants and underwear in the process. Joel stared wide-eyed at Ray in his dragon form, his glasses still perched on his face and the clothes he had been wearing in pieces on the floor. “Do you believe me now?”

 

Joel blinked and chocked out a quiet “Y-yeah..” Ray didn’t shift back into his human form but took his place on the sofa again. They fell into silence again with Joel just staring at Ray. “You could do this since I met you.”

 

Ray nodded and looked away “I didn’t want anyone to know because I- I thought everyone would leave me when they found out..Michael found out when he walked in on me and he took it a lot better than I thought he would. That’s why I told the guys and I’m telling you now.”

 

Joel frowned “This- This is a lot to get used too but- you’re still Ray under these scales.”

 

Ray smiled as wide as he could in this form as he shrunk down to the size of a rat and flew up to sit on Joel’s shoulder, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. Joel blushed and smiled down at the now mini Ray dragon. “Thank you, Joel.”

 

Joel just smiled bigger and held a hand out for Ray to step onto. Ray hopped onto his hand and Joel placed a kiss on Ray’s head, making sure to be careful of his horns and spikes. “You’re still adorable as a dragon.”

 

Ray blushed and smacked Joel’s hand with his tail “Oh, shut up! I’m going to change back now, I’ll be right back.” Ray flew into his room, growing in size until he could shut the door and he shifted into in his human form again, pulling on some sweat pants and a random shirt before he walked back out into the living room. He grinned and jumped over the sofa, landing next to Joel again. “Minecraft?”

 

Joel grinned back at him “Minecraft.” Ray booted up the Xbox and the two played and laughed together for hours. Around 2 am they called it quits when Ray noticed Michael hadn’t come home. It clicked and suddenly he was giggling uncontrollably.

 

“What? What’s so funny?”

 

“Michael- Michael likes Gavin..How did I not see it before?” He wheezed then Joel was laughing too and Ray was laughing more at Joel’s laugh then Michael and Gavin.

 

They laughed hard and long in their sleep deprived state, Ray’s head falling into Joel’s lap in the mist of their laughing fit. After a few more minutes, the two slowly stopped laughing and realized their position. Ray frowned and looked up at him “Do you have to go?”

 

Joel smiled and ran his fingers through Ray's hair. “Do you want me to stay?” Ray nodded his eyes falling close at the sensation making sleep start to catch up with him. “I’ll stay.”

 

Joel smiled as he picked Ray up and moved him into his room. Joel was just gonna leave Ray in his room and sleep on the sofa but when he went to leave, Ray grabbed his arm. “Don’t leave..” Joel smiled and slid into the bed next to Ray. Ray smiled and buried his face into Joel’s chest while Joel wrapped his arms around him, his head on top of Ray’s. And as Ray dosed off to sleep he couldn’t help but smile.

 

Everything would be okay. As long as he had Joel and his friends on his side, he’d be okay.

 

 


	7. He'll Tear Me Up & Break Me Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff hits the fan. Poor Ray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this chapter, If you don't know already:
> 
> Tatsu is a type of Japanese dragon that could change it's size, become invisible and was wingless.
> 
> It'll make sense later, trust me.

 

 

For once, Ray was right. His life had went back to how it was before anyone even knew about the dragon form. He ended up telling the other people at Rooster Teeth and all of them having around the same reaction as the Achievement Hunters. After a few weeks, the days went by normally, or as normal as a group of idiots playing video games can be. Joel finally maned up and asked Ray out on a date. Ray was more than ecstatic and the two started dating officially. There was some teasing but Ray honestly didn’t care with how great his life was at the moment. Life was how he never thought it would turn out to be and that’s probably why he should’ve saw it coming.

 

 

It was two months from the day Ray revealed his secret when it happened. Ray was working late, editing quietly at his desk when a soft shuffling sound caught his attention. He turned and looked toward the sound, not seeing anything moving by the window. He stared for a moment longer before he shrugged and turned back to his computer.  It was about 5 minutes later when Ray felt like he wasn’t alone. He felt eyes on him from somewhere and he turned and looked back at the window again, almost falling over when he saw what was outside the window. Bright light grey eyes stared at him as he took in the creature’s appearance. The thing had hair that resembled the galaxy, pale skin and big black wisp-like fairy wings hanging behind it. It went _through_ the window, speaking deathly calm.

 

 

“Tatsu. Ray Narvaez Jr., my master as sent me to retrieve his dragon. You cannot escape me. I see all and know all. You will come quietly or the ones you hold dear will take your place.”

 

 

He didn’t really have a choice in the matter so he stood and left the one place that had brought him true happiness. Looking back at the building, Ray prayed to any god there was that someone would look for him. That Joel wouldn’t forget him..

 

 

~-~

 

 

It was early in the morning when Joel woke, immediately feeling that something was wrong. He frowned and started getting ready for work. After he was dressed, he rushed to the building figuring he’d know what was wrong when he got there. He walked into the building fast, the nagging urge to know that Ray was okay was growing by the minute. He stepped into the empty Achievement Hunter office and frowned. Ray’s computer was still on, the video he had been editing still on the screen and all his belonging still sitting around his desk.  He stepped closer to his boyfriend’s desk and found traces of a powder that looked like the galaxy. It was then that everything clicked and he ran from the room, yelling for anyone to help him as tears welled up in his eyes. That manic had Ray. There was no other place Ray would be and Joel knew it. But he’ll be d*mned if he lets that piece of sh*t keep _his_ Ray.

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray didn’t remember how they got there but when he opened his eyes he was back in the dingy cell, though, this time he wasn’t alone. There was an elf in the cage to the right of him and a wyvern in the cage to the left. He blinked, finding that his glasses were cracked and he frowned, turning his attention back to the two in the different cells. The elf was short, with short brown hair and dark eyes. He was wearing normal clothes but they were so tore up and dirty that Ray guessed the guy had been here for a while. The wyvern was a pretty light blue color that matched it’s eyes. It was about 3 sizes smaller than Ray’s normal size but it’s tail was long.  Ray didn’t get a chance to look at anything else because the gargoyle from before walked down the hall and dragged him out of his cell and back down the hall. The elf and wyvern watched him go with grim looks at him and at each other. As he was dragged down the long hall, Ray felt the fear bubble up in his gut, questions running through his head a mile a minute. What was he going to do? Why did he want him? They made it to a set of doors with a keypad and Ray made sure to lock the five digit code into his head as the heavy metal doors opened slowly. Ray was about to find out the answers to all his questions and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for it.

 

 

~-~

 

 

“HE'S  ** _WHAT_**?”

 

 

Joel frowned at Michael’s shout. Geoff was standing next to him, having just told the rest of the company what had happened to Ray. He sighed, fidgeting anxiously with the end of his shirt. He was absolutely terrified. Furious, but terrified. He didn’t know why after all this time the mad man was kidnapping Ray again or what he even wanted Ray for. It was nerve wrecking watching the time go by and knowing that Ray was off in most likely New York with an insane doctor that has a fetish for mythical creatures.

 

 

“I’m going to New York.”

 

 

Joel’s soft but firm voice cut through the angry yells and mumbles, silencing every one as they looked at Joel in shock for a moment before Michael spoke up.

 

 

“Not f*cking alone, you are! I’m going with you!”

 

 

And just like that, people started to speak up. It went from just Joel to a team of ten and Joel was more than relieved he didn’t have to go up against that mad man by himself. Joel booked a flight to New York that would leave the next day for them while everyone tried to go back to work. It was easier said than done but finally, the end of the work day arrived and the designated ten went home to pack. As Joel stuffed clothes in his suitcase he couldn’t help but think about all the bad things that could happen to Ray. He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away as he looked up at the night sky. He just hoped they would get there in time.

 

 

~-~

 

 


	8. The Nightmare's Just Begun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel and the team head to New York to get Ray, Ray finds more questions than answers back with the maniac and Joel finally stops doubting himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so so so so so sorry this chapter took so long! Mid terms are no joke man..And they're still not over. Hopefully I can go back to updating every weekend after my midterms are over but I finally got a little break so here's the next chapter! Enjoy~!

 

 

~-~

 

 

The next morning, Joel arrived at the airport early meeting Geoff, Jack and Ryan already there. He tried to smile at them but Geoff just pat him on the back. Seconds later Michael, Gavin and Lindsay showed up followed by Adam, Miles and Blaine. When everyone was there Geoff explained the plan.

 

 

“Alright. First we’re gonna go check into the hotel then Michael, you know where Ray used to live so we’ll start around there. Remember we gotta be quick we don’t know what the hell that f*ck is doing to Ray. Got it?”

 

 

Determined nods met his words as the intercom announced their plane was boarding. They were silent as they boarded, all thoughts on getting to Ray before something serious happened. Joel had a window seat next to Geoff and Adam while everyone else were spread around the plane. Joel stared out the window, too nervous to even think about sleeping. He missed Ray. The more he thought about Ray, the more he realized just how much he loved him. He was his everything and he’d do anything to keep him safe. Joel just wanted to tell Ray those three words neither of them had said out of fear of rejection. Everyone was telling him how dumb he was being because it was clear to them that Ray loved him in return and now he wanted nothing more than to go back in time and actually tell him but he could only sit here in this uncomfortable seat in this plane wishing he had protected Ray better.

 

 

Joel was brought out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder and a tissue being passed to him. He blinked and felt his face, realizing he had been crying he frowned and took the tissue from Adam and nodded in thanks to both Geoff and Adam. Geoff’s hand slid off his shoulder and landed back on the arm rest as Joel wiped his face with the tissue. He sighed as he looked back out the window.

 

 

‘We’re coming Ray…We’re coming…’

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray blinked his eyes opened and found everything was blurry. He could make out a dark figure on the side of the room his was in and a table full of sliver objects. He knew he was strapped down on a table as he tried to get up and couldn’t move. He groaned as a wave of pain rushed over him and the figure moved closer to him.

 

 

“Good. You’re awake.”

 

 

The familiar voice paused, moving to stand next to Ray as he blinked harshly trying to get the pain to go away.

 

 

“My Fae has told me everything. You disobeyed me, my dragon..You didn’t show me your true powers but you told those pathetic humans. They don’t care about you like I do. You’re full potential is about to awaken now, Tatsu, so sleep..”

 

 

Ray was extremely confused. He wanted to just scream at the mad man to let him go, to leave him alone, but there was another needle poked into his side and he was fighting sleep once again. Though before he was fully asleep, he heard the mad scientist mutter,

 

 

“I just hope my serum works this time..I need to be able to control him so he'll never leave..”

 

 

~-~

 

 

Joel had took to pacing the moment they got checked into their hotel. His nerves were growing by the moment. ‘What was he doing to Ray? Where exactly was Ray? Would they get there in time? Would he test on Ray mo-

 

 

“Jesus Christ, Joel. Sit the f*ck down! You’re denting the floor!”

 

 

Joel frowned at Michael and took a seat between Ryan and Adam.

 

 

“Sorry..I’m just worried.”

 

 

Michael mirrored his frown, about to speak when Gavin interrupted,

 

 

“Don’t be, J-Roll! We’ll get to Ray. I know we will!”

 

 

Joel looked up at Gavin as Adam pat him on the back with a reassuring smile. He smiled weakly as he looked back down and said,

 

 

“I hope so Gavin…I hope so.”

 

 

There was a long moment of silence until Geoff broke it.

 

 

“Alright, guys. Get some rest, we’ll start where Ray used to live and go from there.”

 

 

They nodded and one by one, everyone but Adam returned to their respective rooms. Gavin and Michael, Geoff and Jack, Miles and Blaine, & Lindsay and Ryan. Joel laid on top of his bed for a long time just staring at the ceiling in silent darkness. That is until a voice broke through it.

 

 

“Joel? I know you’re still awake.”

 

 

Joel just sighed and buried his head further into his pillow.

 

 

“We’ll find Ray…But first you have to get some rest.”

 

 

“That’s easier said than done, Adam.”

 

 

“I know it is but if you want to find Ray, you have to be able to function in the morning.”

 

 

Joel sighed, he was right but Joel really didn’t want to go to sleep.

 

 

“I- ..Never mind.”

 

 

“No. No, never mind. What were you gonna say?”

 

 

Joel was silent for a long time and just as Adam was about to ask if he was still awake, Joel let out a low whisper.

 

 

“I- I’m scared..”

 

 

There was a heavy pause and Joel was so glad it was dark and he didn’t have to look at the man on the other bed across the room. There was shuffling and Joel guessed that Adam was turning to look at him.

 

 

“We know and that’s why we’re here with you. We’re all afraid but we’ll find Ray. I’m sure of it. Now **you** just need to be sure of it.”

 

 

Joel sighed,

 

 

“…You’re right.”

 

 

“D*mn right, I’m right. Now get some rest Joel. We got a long day tomorrow.”

 

 

“Alright, alright.”

 

 

Joel laid in silence until he thought Adam had went to sleep and whispered,

 

 

“Thank you, Adam.”

 

 

He didn’t expect an answer so he closed his eyes and started to drift off.

 

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

 

Joel blinked his eyes opened and glanced at the hump in the other bed, now snoring quietly and slowly a smile spread across his face and he let his head meet the pillow again and his eyes fall shut. There were people here that believed in him. Now it was about time he believed in himself too. With that thought, Joel dosed off, a new sense of determination filling him.

 

 

~-~

 

 


	9. Why Won't Somebody Come & Save Me From This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally see just who's in the cells surrounding Ray and he gets an unexpected visitor when the search goes wrong. 
> 
> (Ignore my generic street names I am not that creative and I don't live in New York so yeah..)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, so, sorry for the wait! Finally got a break from class for Thanksgiving so I'll be free all week!! Yay~! That means probably more chapters and maybe I'll draw some stuff from this fic and put it on my tumblr! We'll see how the week goes! But for now, I hope you enjoy this chapter! 
> 
> -Tiffany

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray blinked his eyes opened and found he was in his cell again. He sat up and immediately rubbed his head, finding he was back in his human form. He frowned and took in his surroundings finding two new people in the cells across from him. The first guy had long, wavy dark brown hair and a dirty ripped up flannel and jeans. He was knocked out on the floor of the cell with his hands and feet tied. The second guy was really short but really muscular. He was facing the corner of his cell, his back to Ray. Ray frowned and noticed the wyvern was missing and the elf was staring at him.

 

 

“Y-you okay, man? You hit your head pretty hard when that gargoyle threw you back in there.”

 

 

Ray frowned and shook his head.

 

 

“I…hit my head? But I don’t feel like I did?”

 

 

The elf nodded with a frown.

 

 

“He’s still mad about you keeping your dragon to yourself.”

 

 

Ray looked at him weirdly. ‘How did he know about that?’

 

 

“Oh, sorry that probably sounded creepy but you’re Ray right? The fae told Mad Matthew all about you. I’m Kerry.”

 

 

Ray blinked and raised a brow,

 

 

“Okay…What the f*ck is a fae? Is that a fairy? And who the f*ck is Matthew?”

 

 

Kerry laughed humorlessly,

 

 

 “He didn’t tell you? Matthew or ‘Mad Matthew’ as I like to call him is the one responsible for all of the humans turned creatures here. And yes, a Fae is a type of fairy that can see the future. Obviously, he modified the one he made to see the present, the future and the past.”

 

 

Ray frowned and the last thing he recalled before he passed out resurfaced,

 

 

“Kerry what’s a ‘Tatsu’ or whatever the f*ck _Matthew_ called me.”

 

 

“You. Or at least he’s trying to make you more powerful than a Tatsu. It’s a type of dragon that could become invisible and was wingless. I overheard that you’re the most powerful thing he’s made. That’s why he’s so dead set on keeping you here. Plus you seem to be immune to that mind control chemical he injects us with. I’m immune too but I just pretend that it works. Saves me trouble.”

 

 

Ray sat back and took off his glasses, rubbing his face once.

 

 

“This is just f*cking great.”

 

 

Kerry sat back as well, sighing quietly.

 

 

“Tell me about it.”

 

 

They sat in silence for a long while, until the heavy doors started to open and the two glanced at each other and pretended to be asleep. There was a dragging sound but Ray didn’t dare open his eyes. The cell to the other side of him opened and a loud thump echoed throughout the building. Then the cell door closed and minutes later the big doors closed once again and Ray peaked over at Kerry, finding him standing and staring wide eyed at the other cell. Ray gulped, this isn’t gonna be good, he frowned and looked over at the cage and gasped.

 

 

In place of the wyvern before, there was a thin and tall man with long straight brown hair, glasses and bright neon blue eyes, the same color as the wyvern’s eyes. He was breathing heavily with bruises and cuts all over him. Ray crawled closer to the guy’s cell and whispered,

 

 

“What happened? You okay?”

 

 

The man gulped, and sucked in a deep breath as he made eye contact with Ray finally.

 

 

“Matthew happened, Ray. No..no I’m not okay and I won’t be okay until I leave here. Don’t- Don’t tell him you’re immune…bad- bad things…happen..” The guy got quieter the more he spoke until he blacked out and Ray was more scared than ever.

 

 

“Jesus f*cking Christ, I’m gonna die.”

 

 

Ray muttered, hoping that someone was looking for him.

 

 

~-~

 

 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Joel put a hand on Michael’s shoulder as he screamed and cursed on his knees. Gavin was trying his best to get Michael to stop screaming while the rest of the group just watched with matching sad expressions.

 

 

She was gone.

 

 

They’d went right to where Ray used to live and as soon as night fell, they caught a glimpse of the same van that took Ray all those years ago with a frantic Lindsay, banging on the back window until she was struck and fell over out of view. Michael had run after the van for a long time but it was just too fast and Michael didn’t have the same endurance he did as a child. So he took to sinking to his knees yelling for his best friend.

 

 

Those f*ckers had took Ray and now they had Lindsay too. Everything was going downhill but Ryan spoke up before anything else could happen.

 

 

“She’ll have a plan. This is Lindsay we’re talking about here. We just gotta look for signs and we’ll find them.”

 

 

Michael pulled back from Gavin’s hug and looked up at Ryan with a frown and a sigh.

 

 

“You’re right. She doesn’t f*cking give up.”

 

 

Gavin smiled reassuringly and ruffled Michael’s hair, earning and soft, real smile from Michael as he spoke.

 

 

“We’ll find her, boi! And we’ll find Ray too!”

 

 

Michael stood, with a little help from Gavin and gave a determined nod.

 

 

“You know it, boi!”

 

 

They grinned at each other before turning back to the rest of their, now, 9 man team.

 

 

“What are we doing, boss?”

 

 

Geoff’s face turned serious and jumped right in to a new plan,

 

 

“Alright, so first we’re gonna..”

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray didn’t know how long he had been here but he guessed it had been about a week. He’d learned the names of the other people surrounding his cage.

 

 

Matt was to the opposite side of Kerry and Jeremy was across from Matt, Jon was across from Kerry and the cage that was directly in front of Ray was empty. Mad Matthew had turned Jon into a weird breed of mermaid that could change between his legs and the single tail and Jeremy was a werewolf that changed forms at will instead of only during full moons and Matt had been altered to be able to switch between his human body and his wyvern body.

 

 

It was probably a day later that Ray heard the doors open and struggling. The person was causing so much of a racket that Ray had a tough time not flinching at the sounds of distress. It was a woman, and her voice was extremely familiar to Ray. He stayed still until the heavy doors closed and Ray heard a mutter of,

 

 

“F*cking *ssholes.”

 

 

Ray jolted up and jumped toward the bars with wide eyes.

 

 

“Lindsay?!”

 

 

“Ray?!”

 

 

“What are you doing here?! How did you get here? Where’s everybody else?!”

 

 

Lindsay chuckled a bit,

 

 

“Woah Calm down, Ray. One question at a time.”

 

 

“What are you doing here?!”

 

 

“Well I was f*cking kidnapped right where you were kidnapped years ago. We were looking for you and it just kinda happened.”

 

 

“Who is ‘we’ exactly?”

 

 

“Well, it’s me, Michael, Gavin, Joel, Adam, Geoff, Jack, Ryan, Miles and Blaine. We left Texas the day after you went missing. They’re looking for us now so we gotta find a way to point them here, wherever the f*ck we are.”

 

 

Ray smiled at thought that Joel and everyone else had come for him but frowned as he looked back at Kerry, who was staring between the two as they spoke.

 

 

“Kerry you’ve been here the longest, do you know where we are?”

 

 

Kerry frowned and looked down,

 

 

“Sorry, I don’t know. I was knocked out when they brought me here.”

 

 

“Jeremy?”

 

 

“Sorry man. I was knocked out too.”

 

 

“Jon?”

 

 

“I don’t remember how I got here either, sorry.”

 

 

“Matt?”

 

 

Matt sat up slowly, the bruises from the day before still making him sore.

 

 

“...I used to work here.”

 

 

Ray did a double take, “You what?!”  

 

 

“Relax, relax. I’d never work for that mad man. I worked here when it was a jail. My dad was friends with the chief so I wasn’t a cop or anything, but I used to help him file papers and stuff like that. Kinda like an intern or something.”

 

 

“Oh. Well you know this building well don’t you! So where exactly are we?”

 

 

“We’re on first street.”

 

 

“That’s about 10 miles from my old apartment. Lindsay where were you guys staying?”

 

 

“In a hotel like 3 blocks from your old apartment.”

 

 

“Okay. So we know where we are. Now we just gotta figure out how to get the message to the guys..”

 

 

Before their conversation could go any further, the heavy doors started to open again and they all dropped like flies, pretending to be asleep. A cell door opened and there was a small struggle between whoever was being taken back into the “lab” before there was a short stretch of silence and the heavy doors closed shut. Ray didn’t have to look to know just who they had taken to the back but with a heavy heart, he sat up and felt his heart sank at the empty cell across from him. He was absolutely terrified as to what the mad man would do to Lindsay and how this would affect her in the future. He couldn’t do anything to stop it so he leaned against the wall and looked down at his hands. Kerry, Jon, Matt and Jeremy watched him with looks of sadness and defeat.

 

 

~-~

 

 


	10. Stay Away From Me, The Beast Is Ugly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are changing. They're getting stronger while enemies are becoming allies. Everyone gets help from an unlikely but extremely helpful source. 
> 
> (Sooo sorry for the wait!! Classes just started up again so I don't really know when I'll get time to sit down and write, let alone post, so expect random and sporadic chapters. There's not much I can do about it, sadly. But yeah, enjoy!)

 

 

~-~

 

 

"THAT MOTHERF*CKER!! I'LL RIP HIS THROAT OUT WHEN I FIND HIM!!"

 

 

Michael was screaming once again and this time Gavin was having a harder time calming the boy down. They were getting more worried as the days passed and there was no sign from Ray or Lindsay. They had officially been in New York for almost two weeks and they still couldn’t seem to find them. It’s been three days since Lindsay was snatched up by the same thing that took Ray years ago. Joel was getting more and more frustrated and worried and now the reassuring words from Gavin and Adam and everyone else weren’t helping anymore. Joel frowned at the two and started walking the other direction from them with Adam.

 

 

A few blocks away, Adam held up a finger as a sign for Joel to wait before he disappeared down an alley. Joel raised a brow and stared off into the dark alley even after Adam was no longer visible, hoping the man wouldn’t be taken like Ray and Lindsay. He stood there for 5 minutes before he started to see something shining at the end of the alley. Curious, Joel began to walk toward the light, finding it was the same dust he had found in the Achievement Hunter office. His eyes widened and he ran until he reached the source, finding Adam standing there with- with a fairy?

 

 

“Joel Heyman, you are Ray’s mate, yes?”

 

 

Joel blushed a bit at how it was put but he nodded and Adam laughed as turned to him with a grin.

 

 

“Joel, Joel! She said she’ll help us find Ray and Lindsay!”

 

 

Joel frowned before he directed a glare at the glowing fairy.

 

 

“What? Wait a minute. Weren’t you the one who took Ray in the first place? I found this dust in the office!”

 

 

She smiled sadly and nodded.

 

 

“Indeed, I did. But I was under the control of the one who made me. I had never looked into the past before but now that I have..I saw the real me. Before this fake me was made. I was a normal person just like Ray and Lindsay and all the others locked up in cages. I also looked into the future and what I saw was a war between humans and these brainwashed innocent people made to fight. I don’t want this to come to fruition so I must help you free all the innocents and destroy the mad man behind all of this. All I want now is to end all the suffering.”

 

 

Silvery tears that looked like liquid stars rolled down her face and onto the ground where even there they seemed to emit a soft glow. Adam and Joel looked at each other then back at the fae.

 

 

“Alright. We’ll trust you but if you try anything there will be consequences.”

 

 

The fae nodded, a real smile covering her face as she glowed brighter. The light cutting through the darkness of the alley like a beacon as she stepped forward to hug Joel then Adam.

 

 

“Thank you, Joel, Adam. I must leave now. Matthew is looking for me but I shall return to your hotel in a few hours, alright?”

 

 

The two nodded, in a daze at the bright star that was this fae, and she smiled again before she stretched her wings open and disappeared into the night sky with one last beam of light, leaving them alone in the dark alley. They slowly made their way back to Ray’s old apartment building in silence, until,

 

 

“…Adam?”

 

 

“Yeah, Joel?”

 

 

“What the f*ck just happened?”

 

 

And Adam could do nothing but shrug and laugh because this was something they never thought would happen. Doubts were flying through Joel and Adam’s heads but they had to be optimistic and take this help in finding Ray and Lindsay, before anything else happened.

 

 

~-~

 

 

Before Ray had knew it, he was waking up on the floor with his back against the wall and his head down. It took a second for him to remember exactly what had happened but when he did his head popped up fast to look at the cell across from his and what he saw made hot steam escape his nose and wisps of fire shoot from his mouth in his anger. Lindsay was unconscious on the floor of her cell with bruises lining all the skin Ray could see and to top it all off, she had big deep red fox ears with a huge red tail to match. She had red swirls and patterns covering all the skin Ray could see with long red lines starting from around her eyes all the way to both sides of her face. Ray couldn’t stop the fire from escaping his mouth if he wanted too, and he didn’t stop releasing his wrath on the bars until they were red hot, showing they were at the right temperature to be bent but not yet melted. Ray coughed as he held his throat in the aftermath, it suddenly becoming drier than he ever thought possible. He noticed that he and Lindsay were the only ones in their cells. After a few minutes of coughing, something was slid into his cell and he looked up with a frown as the fae who threatened him into coming back stood before him.

 

 

“W-whaa?”

 

 

He managed to wheeze out the first word of his sentence before he entered another coughing fit but the fae just sat down in front of the scolding hot bars and pushed what she had brought him forward. Staring at the cup in suspicion, he noted that whatever was in it was clear and looked like water but he wasn’t taking any chances.

 

 

“You aren’t ready to use your dragon abilities in this form, Ray. You are getting stronger as the days pass and I want you to be at your very best when this Friday comes so please drink. It is only water.”

 

 

Ray searched her face for anything to give away that she was lying as he picked up the cup but she only smiled kindly at him, unnerving him more as he finally drunk what he was given. It took a second to realize that, yes, this was water and yes, the fae who brought him back to this cursed place was helping him. After he downed the whole cup of water, he looked back at the fae wearily.

 

 

“Why are you helping me?”

 

 

The smile she wore dimmed immediately as she looked down.

 

 

“I saw myself. I was good at wood carving with a chainsaw and I wanted to have my own art studio. I saw my family, my friends, and my life before this new me was made. I saw you, Lindsay, Kerry and everyone else and we were all normal people…innocent people…And I saw the war. Millions of innocent people slain by the hands of each other and you would be the one to bring it into fruition if I don’t help you now.”

 

 

Ray’s eyes widened as the words of Kerry echoed in his head.

 

 

**_‘A Fae is a type of fairy that can see the future. Obviously, he modified the one he made to see the present, the future and the past.’_ **

 

 

The Fae looked back up at him with a sad smile. Speaking softly at first before practically hissing the last part of the sentence.

 

 

“I see the pain of the past, present and future and I want the suffering to end. If you’ll follow my plan, I’ll get all of you out of here and _you’ll never have to worry about Matthew ever again_.”

 

 

Ray could feel the hatred she held for Matthew just by the way she spoke and Ray couldn’t agree more. The man had ruined everyone’s lives here and Ray wanted nothing more for the man to get exactly what he deserved. So he gave her a determined nod.

 

 

“I’m in. Just tell me what you need me to do.”

 

 

The fae smiled the first real smile he had ever seen on her face and that gave him even more hope that this would work and she was actually helping him.

 

 

“I’ll be meeting with your mate, Joel, and the rest of your friends later to tell them the plan. All I need you to do is to get stronger, Ray. Practice your abilities and tell the others around you to do so as well. When Friday comes, we’ll cause a distraction. Lindsay will come up with the best plan of action when it comes to the distraction so follow what she has to say. Thank you, Ray, for helping me stop this mad man. I will make sure you’ll never have to suffer this pain every again.”

 

 

Ray’s eyes widened, ‘She talked to Joel?!’ before he nodded.

 

 

“Yeah. Yeah okay. I can do that. And thank you for helping me and everyone else get out of this mess.”

 

 

She smiled as she seemed to gracefully float upward back into a standing position.

 

 

“You are welcome, Ray.”

 

 

She started to leave, but Ray stopped her.

 

 

“Hey, you know my name it’s only fair I know yours!”

 

 

She giggled softly, the sound like little bells ringing quietly.

 

 

“Ah, yes. I am a Fae now but I assume you want my name before this me was made, correct?”

 

 

Ray nodded and the Fae smiled as she ran a hand over the still red hot bars, cooling them down in a matter of seconds.

 

 

“My name was Griffon.”

 

 

“Well you’re still, Griffon. No matter what that f*ck injects into you. Just like I’m still Ray and Lindsay is still Lindsay. We are not defined by what he makes us to be. We are who we want to be.”

 

 

Griffon’s eyes widened, making her light grey pupils more noticeable before a beautiful tear, like the galaxy had been liquefied, ran down her cheek.

 

 

“…Thank you, Ray. I’ll do everything in my power to see this torture end.”

 

 

Ray smiled wide and nodded

 

 

“You’re welcome, Griffon. I’ll do all I can to help just let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”

 

 

She nodded and returned his smile.

 

 

“I will, Ray. See you soon.”

 

 

Griffon snapped her fingers and just like that he was back in the same position as when he woke up in. Frowning, he sat up and found Lindsay was still in the cage across from him, unconscious while the others were either asleep, unconscious, or gone. He rubbed his throat, recalling the encounter with Griffon and feeling for once that they had a chance. As he looked over at Lindsay, she twitched a bit before her tail suddenly split into two and she didn’t even flinch. Ray blinked in awe at the two fox tails now curled around his friend’s unconscious form. Millions of questions ran through his mind but Kerry’s voice answered most of them before he could even voice them.

 

 

“He made her a Kitsune. It’s an old Japanese legend about a fox spirit whose power relied on how many tails it had. The max is nine and Lindsay already has two.”

 

 

Ray jumped at the sudden voice but raised a brow at Kerry.

 

 

“How do you know so much about mythical legends?”

 

 

Kerry sheepishly looked away

 

 

“W-well I spent a lot of time at the library a few blocks from my house.”

 

 

Ray nodded and turned back to Lindsay.

 

 

“How long is it supposed to take to get all nine tails?”

 

 

“Usually, a kitsune doesn’t get any more tails until after 100 years. He’s playing with fire here..There’s a reason it’s spaced out like that.”

 

 

“Why is that, Kerry?”

 

 

“So they can learn their abilities and get used to them. She hasn’t even gotten used to one tail and now she has two! She won’t be able to control anything she can do for a long time unless he’s messing with that too.”

 

 

Ray frowned and looked back at Kerry.

 

 

“You don’t think..?”

 

 

“Probably. I wouldn’t put it passed that maniac to actually mess with someone’s brain too. Look at all the other sh*t he’s done.” 

 

 

Smoke and heat was bellowing out of Ray’s nose but he shook his head and tried to calm down. Griffon had told him not to use his dragon abilities in his human form yet so he wouldn’t. At the thought of Griffon, Ray gasped and turned to Kerry.

 

 

“Kerry, you remember the fae, right?”

 

 

Kerry looked at him weirdly but nodded

 

 

“Yeah…why?”

 

 

Ray couldn’t contain his excitement and started to whisper yell through the bars.

 

 

“She wants to help us dude! She visited me and told me that she looked in the future and there was an all-out war between the people turned creatures in here and the people out there. He’s gonna use us to take over the world and she wants to stop it.”

 

 

Kerry stared at him for a moment,

 

 

“Do you trust her?”

 

 

Ray nodded and Kerry slowly broke out into a grin.

 

 

“What does she want us to do?”

 

 

~-~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know how I did. Comments and Kudos are much appreciated!


	11. It's Teeth Are Razor Sharp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long but college has been hard and busy plus I got a small case of writers block so I wasn't able to write at all over the break I had last week. But the writers block is gone now so I'm giving you guys two chapters because of the wait! :) Really hope you guys enjoy!!

 

 

~-~

 

 

“So let me get this straight. You two found the fairy that took Ray in an alleyway and now it's going to help us find Ray and Lindsay and it’s supposed to be here any minute?”

 

 

Joel and Adam both nodded and Geoff gave a sigh.

 

 

“Alright..Did you tell it where to go?”

 

 

Joel frowned and glanced at Adam.

 

 

“No…She can see the f*cking future and the f*cking past Geoff! There’s no doubt that she already saw where we were!”

 

 

Geoff frowned, doubting this magical creature would help them but he trusted Joel and Adam’s judgement so he just nodded and the group waited. It was just after the sun set that there was a knock on the door. They all glanced at each other before Joel stood to answer the door. Though, what meet him on the other side of the door was a human. A woman a little shorter than Geoff stood at the door with tattoos of the galaxy covering her arms. Joel raised a brow at her but before he could ask her what she wanted, she smiled and started to talk.

 

 

“Hello, Joel. Everyone is here, right?”

 

 

Joel opened his mouth then closed it again. Was- Was this the fae they’d seen earlier?

 

 

“Are- Are you-?”

 

 

She smiled a nodded.

 

 

“Are you going to let me in? I need to talk to everyone.”

 

 

Joel nodded and hastily moved out of the doorway and let her in as he addressed the group.

 

 

“Guys, she’s here!”

 

 

Everyone’s heads snapped up to look at her but they stared at her confused as Joel shut the door behind her.

 

 

“Hello again, Adam. And Hello everyone else.”

 

 

Geoff was staring at her, trying to figure out how this amazingly beautiful _human_ woman was a fairy. She laughed lightly and everyone had to glance at each other in shock at the almost angelic laugh.

 

 

“So, I guess my disguise worked, huh?”

 

 

Joel nodded.

 

 

“I had no idea that was you.”

 

 

She grinned before it turned sad.

 

 

“This is how I used to look. Before Matthew caught me.”

 

 

There was a stunned silence before she shook her head and continued to speak.

 

 

“I guess I’ll take it off now.”

 

 

Slowly, the galaxy tattoos seemed to cover her whole body before the galaxy shifted upward to her hair, two big wisp-like black wings formed out of thin air and her skin seemed to lose it’s color as she started to float. The group watched the change in shock and after her changes ended she opened her eyes and instead of the light blue they used to be, they looked as if someone had turned on a black and white filter, her eyes being the same light shade but grey instead of blue. She smiled at the group as everyone blinked in shock and she sat down next to Geoff.

 

 

“So, let’s get to work. I don’t have much time.”

 

 

This seemed to shake everyone but Geoff out of their shock and planning began with a still shell shocked Geoff. They didn’t get very far into planning though, as Geoff was just staring wide-eyed where the fae had been standing.

 

 

“Geoff?”

 

 

The soft voice startled him out of whatever stupor he found himself in and he focused on the owner of the voice. Light grey eyes stared back at him knowingly as a sad smile formed on her face.

 

 

“I know you’re having trouble with all of this Geoff but I need your help if we’re going to save Ray, Lindsay and the rest of the world.”

 

 

Geoff blinked and nodded, shaking his head a bit.

 

 

“O-okay…Alright, yeah.”

 

 

She smiled kindly at him, that knowing look still present in her eyes.

 

 

“Alright, so this Friday is when you will break in. I spoke to Ray and he should be speaking with the others around him, including Lindsay. They will make a distraction and you will use this to your advantage to get in. I am sorry to inform you that Lindsay will not be fully human when you see her again but-“

 

 

The fae couldn’t even finish her sentence before Michael jumped up and slammed the bathroom door behind him, his face turning a bit red in his anger. Gavin followed him into the bathroom and the fae watched them with a knowing sadness. Nobody said anything until Geoff spoke up.

 

 

“Should we..?”

 

 

The fae frowned and shook her head.

 

 

“Leave them be. He’ll be back in a few minutes. Let Gavin calm him down.”

 

 

The group nodded and sat in silence for another second before Ryan broke it.

 

 

“So you know everything about us but we don’t even know your name. That’s not really fair is it?”

 

 

Ryan was promptly elbowed in the side by Miles but the fae just laughed.

 

 

“Ah yes. Ray said the same thing.”

 

 

She smiled wider and seemed to look off into space as she continued.

 

 

“Looking back at my life before all of this I found out a lot of things about myself that I had forgotten. One of them was my name. At Matthew’s dungeon, I’m just ‘the Fae’ or ‘ My Fae’. But Ray taught me something that I forgot I already knew.”

 

 

She grinned as she looked back at the interested faces surrounding her, holding back a laugh as she said,

 

 

“And I quote, ‘you’re still, Griffon. No matter what that f*ck injects into you. Just like I’m still Ray and Lindsay is still Lindsay. We are not defined by what he makes us to be. We are who we want to be.’ It’s one of the reasons I want to save Ray and Lindsay and everyone else so much. It’s been a while since I’ve looked at myself as Griffon, instead of Fae and Ray is the person I can thank for that.”

 

 

Just as she finished speaking, she turned to look at the bathroom door and seconds later the door opened and Gavin pulled a now much calmer Michael out of the bathroom. She smiled reassuringly at the two and they nodded at her to continue.

 

 

“So, Lindsay’s a lot stronger than she was when she first got to Matthew. Right now, she’s asleep and she will be until she’s at max power, which will be tomorrow. Once she’s awake, they’ll all work on their abilities. Ray and Lindsay have gotten some new abilities as well as most of the people in Matthew’s cells. So, all I need you guys to do is to get water guns-“

 

 

Griffon was cut off again by Joel this time.

 

 

“Wait- water guns?”

 

 

Griffon frowned and gave Joel a stern look.

 

 

“I’m getting to the reason, Joel. Shush.”

 

 

Joel held his hands up in defense and Griffon continued.

 

 

“Like I was saying, you need water guns but I need you get a hold of holy water. He has a right hand man, or gargoyle in this case, that goes by the name of Charles. He’s the same gargoyle that took Ray the first time and Lindsay. He his weak to water so any kind of water is fine with him but Matthew, himself, is not fully human either. He’s turned himself into a vampire, making himself immortal but, he hasn't found a way to get rid of the normal weakness for a vampire since he's the first vampire he's ever made. So, as you know, Vampires are weak to the sun and all things that are holy. This is why I need you all to get holy water and water guns. The water guns will make hitting him more accurate than just throwing the holy water on him. I know this may take a while, which is why I chose Friday. After tomorrow you officially have three days left until Friday but I know you'll get it before then. Don't go any earlier or later than I tell you, understand?”

 

 

The group nodded and Geoff turned to Griffon,

 

 

“So Griffon is there anything else we should know about before we go in there?”

 

 

Griffon thought for a moment before she snapped her fingers.

 

 

“Yes, I was debating whether to tell you or not but, I think I should tell you this. You are aware that Matthew tests out his medicines on live people, right? Well, not all of his experiments turn out right and there is two cages full of all the ‘rejected’ experiments toward the back of the dungeon. Do. Not. Under. Any. Circumstance. Open. Those. Cages. Matthew has a mind control serum that only works on his fully human victims, though he hasn’t figured this out yet. The first cage is entirely human people that have physical changes, like claws or scales and no other changes. The second cage is full of the people turned wild animals. They don’t think like humans anymore and live entirely off instinct. There is no saving these people sadly. They’ll never be able to be normal again but I’ll take care of them. Just don’t touch those cages no matter what, okay?”

 

 

The group nodded and she stood up with sigh.

 

 

“Alright. I must leave. Matthew will call for me in a moment. I’ll see you Friday.”

 

 

She smiled and in the blink of an eye, she was back in her former body. She grinned and left out the way she came. Everyone watched her go with frowns. They looked back at each other and their frowns deepened. Geoff sighed,

 

 

“Alright, get some rest guys. We got a lot of holy water to start stocking up on.”

 

 

The group mumbled agreements and went off to their rooms, leaving Joel and Adam alone again in their room. Adam went straight to bed but Joel gave an excuse about being hungry, knowing Adam would be on his back about his lack of sleep but he just couldn’t at the moment. Sitting in the little kitchen, Joel frowned as he let his brain wonder about Ray.

 

 

Ray had new abilities now, so that meant that Matthew had done something else to Ray. The thought made his blood boil and his skin crawl. He wanted so badly to punch the dick in the face and beat him until he couldn’t even spell his own name but, of course the f*cker had to play dirty and experiment on himself. He couldn’t just be some sick human f*ck that liked torturing other people and ruining their lives, no, he had to make himself a f*cking vampire. Joel wanted to scream and break everything he could reach but he wasn’t home. He was in a hotel and Adam was asleep in the other room, his snoring floating through the quiet of the hotel room. But the more he thought about it the angrier he got and Ray wasn’t here to calm him down. Ray wasn’t here to kiss him and hug him. Ray was in a cold dungeon getting tested on for pleasure. Joel raced to the couch and stuffed his face into a pillow and screamed until his screams turned to muffled sobs. Tears soaked the pillow as thoughts of Ray ran through his head. It was the crippling weight on his heart at the thought of Ray not being next to him that drove him to this point. He felt so helpless, wanting nothing more than to hold Ray and tell him just how much he loved him. He fell asleep like that, sometime around 2 in the morning.

 

 

~-~

 

 


	12. It's Hiding In The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long but college has been hard and busy plus I got a small case of writers block so I wasn't able to write at all over the break I had last week. But the writers block is gone now so I'm giving you guys two chapters because of the wait! :) Really hope you guys enjoy!!

 

 

~-~

 

 

Kerry frowned as he looked down at the concrete floor. Everyone was either gone, asleep or unconscious but Kerry was still awake, trying to figure out what exactly he could do. He was an elf and he didn’t know what abilities elves had, even with his extensive knowledge of mythical creatures. He frowned and closed his eyes, wishing for something to happen, but, he was disappointed as nothing happened. With a sigh, he looked out the little window of his cell and frowned. He stared at the vines blocking the window for a long time, just thinking about elves and what they could possibly do.

 

 

'They lived in the forest, he knew, so maybe they had natural abilities? Something to do with plants or animals, maybe?'

 

 

Kerry sighed again and looked over at Ray's cell, finding the dragon was asleep with his back against the wall, just like he had been since Lindsay was placed back in her cell. He wanted to be the first one to know when she was awake, whenever she did wake up. Lindsay was now up to eight tails, which meant she was almost a 'mature' nine tailed fox. It was unsettling how fast the tails were growing for Kerry, and he hoped that she'd at least know how to control her abilities when she finally woke up from the coma-like state she'd been in since she was brought back from the lab. He looked across from him at Jon's cell and found the mermaid in his human form, glowing a soft blue while little drops of water floated around him. Jon had figured out that he could control water, ice and the weather as well as become invisible if he wanted too. Kerry had no idea mermaids could do all that but it made sense when they were known for causing disasters at sea, like storms and shipwrecks, before disappearing into the waves. Kerry glanced at Matt's empty cage with a frown. Matthew had been taking Matt back a lot, only for nothing to happen but him being bruised and beaten and it was the same for Jeremy. Glancing over at his cell, it too, was empty. He often wondered what he was doing back there to them but he had no way to stop whatever it was. Now, he was back to square one, trying to figure out what he could do. He'd been in this hell hole too long without even testing what the mad man had forced into his veins but now it was needed. It was time for him to finally figure out what the hell an elf could do. Only problem is, he didn't know how. With another sigh, he looked out the window again. There were a few vines blocking his view of the full moon, high in the sky, and Kerry frowned.

 

 

'I kind of wanted to see the moon tonight..'

 

 

At that thought, Kerry watched with wide eyes as the vines moved obediently out of the way. Kerry blinked once, then twice before he tried again, moving the vines the vines back in front of the moon.

 

 

"So it was something to do with plants!"

 

 

He grinned excitedly as he kept moving the vines around before a thought reached his mind.

 

 

'Does it only work on plants?'

 

 

He spotted an empty cup outside of his cell and focused on it, trying to get it to come to him. Nothing happened at first but then slowly it started to rise. Kerry grinned wide and lost his concentration, the cup dropping back down to the cold concrete floor. He was about to try and pick it up again when a red light started to emit from Lindsay.

 

 

"Ray! Ray, wake up!"

 

 

Ray's head immediately popped up and he looked at Kerry before looking at Lindsay. Kerry was about to speak when the red swirls and patterns on Lindsay's face started glowing brightly before it all migrated to her closed eyes as her eighth tail split into two, making her nine tails. The red swirls became a thick red line under her eyes that had a slight curl at the ends and two bright red dots on her forehead. She glowed for another minute before it slowly dimmed and Lindsay blinked her eyes opened.

 

 

"Ray..?"

 

 

"Lindsay! Are you okay?"

 

 

Lindsay sat up slowly, her bangs easily covering the two red dots as she sat up fully.

 

 

"I- I dunno. I feel weird. I don't know how to explain it other than my head feels heavy and like there's something attached to me. What happened after that dick took me back?"

 

 

"Well, you're a nine tailed fox now, Lindsay. You've been knocked out for a few days while you got all your tails."

 

 

Lindsay frowned and finally noticed the big fluffy red tails swaying around her and the ears to match on top of her head. 

 

 

"I- I've been asleep? So- so all of that was a dream then?"

 

 

She mumbled the second question to herself but Ray picked it up with enhanced hearing.

 

 

"What was a dream? What happened Lindsay?"

 

 

Lindsay looked down placing one of her tails into her lap with the ease and grace that one would expect from a cat, that's lived with a tail all it's life. She started to stroke her tail as she spoke.

 

 

"Well, some kind of fairy named Griffon visited my cell and told me that she was gonna help us get out of here. She told me to trust my instincts, get stronger and come up with a plan to make a distraction. I have a plan but now that you said I've been asleep It couldn't have been real."

 

 

"Really? Wait Lindsay, that was real! Griffon visited me too, a couple of days ago and she talked to Joel, Geoff and everyone else already."

 

 

Lindsay blinked at Ray.

 

 

"Wha-? But how?"

 

 

"She's a fae and she can see the past, present and future and she visited me through a dream as well.”

 

 

Lindsay perked up a bit at that.

 

 

“Well, then! I can tell you guys the plan.”

 

 

“First we have to wake up Jon.”

 

 

Kerry suggested and the other two nodded.

 

 

“Jon!”

 

 

Lindsay used her new tails to poke Jon in the side, the soft blue glow dimming into nothing before the tiny water droplets fell to the ground as he woke.

 

 

“What? What happened?”

 

 

Jon rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn before he noticed Lindsay was awake.

 

 

“Lindsay you’re awake! Are you okay?”

 

 

Lindsay grinned, her sharpened teeth glinting in the low light of the dungeon and her tails gently swaying back and forth.

 

 

“Yeah. I feel kinda weird but that feeling is going away slowly.”

 

 

Jon nodded, returning her grin.

 

 

“That’s good, now what did you wake me up for?”

 

 

Ray and Kerry laughed lightly while Lindsay giggled

 

 

“Well, Lindsay has a plan to get us out of here.”

 

 

Kerry smiled and pointed at Lindsay. She grinned at Kerry before turning to grin at Jon. 

 

 

“Yep! And it involves all of us.”

 

 

Jon grinned wider at her.

 

 

“Well then, let’s hear it!”

 

 

~-~

 

 


	13. Make It End - Final Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers~! Sorry this took so long but I wanted to finish this before I posted anything else! So this story is finally done and I'll be posting the last three chapters including the epilogue! Thank you guys for all the kudos and comments and just reading my story and being patient with me! I hope you guys enjoy~! :)

 

 

~-~

 

 

“We got everything?”

 

 

Joel nodded before checking over everything else one more time. He felt a little silly with a water gun holstered to his belt but he was putting his trust in Griffon to get the love of his life back. Geoff pulled a backpack on his back full of extra water guns filled with holy water. It’d been a complicated and extensive process to get the amount of holy water they had but they got probably more than they would need. Joel and Geoff shuffled into the main room where everyone else was and immediately everyone turned their attention to them.

 

 

“Alright, everyone. We need to get there quick so I’ll make this short. We stick to the plan and we do exactly what Griffon said, alright?”

 

 

Nods and noises of agreement met Geoff’s words and he nodded once before he smiled.

 

 

“Let’s go get our Achievement Hunters back.”

 

 

~-~

 

 

“Psst! Ray!”

 

 

“Mmm?”

 

 

Ray huffed, smoke blowing out his nose, as he rose from his sleep and looked around, finding everyone still asleep except Lindsay and Matt. The last back behind that number coded door again.

 

 

“Today’s the day!” 

 

 

Her tails were swishing around excitedly and her ears were high on her head and Ray grinned, happy from just her happiness alone.

 

 

“Oh yeah. When is plan f*ck-everything-up a go?”

 

 

Lindsay grinned back at him.

 

 

“When Matt gets back. Griffon wanted us to do it when everyone is here.”

 

 

Ray nodded, pouting a little, before Lindsay started talking about.

 

 

“So, you excited to get back to Joel, huh?”

 

 

Ray couldn’t have stopped the big smile that covered his face even if he wanted too.

 

 

“Yeah…I uh- I realized a few things while I was here and I just- yeah. I can’t wait to see him again.”

 

 

Ray blushed, looking down at his hands as Lindsay giggled a bit.

 

 

“Awww! You better invite me to the wedding!”

 

 

Ray blushed darker but chuckled a bit. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the screeching of the door opening. The two dropped their heads to look like they were asleep leaning against the wall. The atmosphere was heavy and as the dragging sounds started Ray had to stop himself from holding his breath. He listened to the dragging stop right outside of Matt’s cage before there was a thud and clawed feet made their way back to the door and it was creaking closed again. Ray snuck a peek at Lindsay before the two raised their heads to look at Matt’s cell and the site made them gasp. Instead of the usual light blue color, neon glowing light blue eyes stared back at the floor lifelessly. He was still laying on the floor like the gargoyle had thrown him in but he seemed distant.

 

 

“Matt?”

 

 

Almost immediately the bright blue faded back into a more normal shade of blue and Matt’s eyes met Ray’s. He spoke after another moment of silence.

 

 

“He did something. I’m trying to figure out what. I feel different.”

 

 

Ray glanced back at Lindsay and frowned. Griffon hadn’t warned them about this, whatever this was. They looked back at Matt and his eyes had turned back into that neon blue color as he stared off into space again.

 

 

“I- I can look through all my memories…Like a room full of filing cabinets all categorized by the year with movies of my life in files organized by date. But- there’s something else. Something else is different and I can’t figure it out..”

 

 

Matt trailed off in a mumble as his eyes seemed to glow brighter before Matt was suddenly transforming into his wyvern form. He was much smaller than Ray so he never ripped his clothes up when he changed forms but his wing span always put two holes in the back of his shirt and his long tail made a hole in the back of his pants. He swung his tail around to look at it, finding some kind of stinger instead of the rounded end. Then he took a small breath and blew out, little snowflakes fell gently from his elongated snout and the Wyvern grinned.

 

 

“That’s it. Eidetic memory, Ice and poison.”

 

 

Ray and Lindsay looked at each other before looking back at Matt, who stood up and flapped his wings a bit and continued.

 

 

“So, is plan f*ck-everything-up happening yet?”

 

 

Ray turned to look back at Lindsay as she nudged the two boys to the left and right of her with two of her nine tails. They jumped awake as Ray nudged Kerry and he woke with a start.

 

 

“Plan is now a go.”

 

 

Ray answered her with a grin as he opened his mouth and let loose a blast of fire so hot that the bar he’d once made red were bright white, melting quickly. Once he’d made a hole decent enough to fit through, Matt didn’t need to ask as he let loose a blast of ice cold air, freezing the bars back to their normal temperature. Ray then proceeded to step out of his cell and melt everyone’s bars on their cages, Matt being first so he could freeze the bars right after. Once they were done, Ray moved on the other people still locked up too with Matt. Jeremy quickly shifted into his werewolf form while Kerry called on the plants outside. The vines busted through all the windows and wrapped tightly around the door and key pad. Jeremy stood watch in front of the heavily covered door as Ray and Matt started freeing everyone. They had got most of the people out when the banging on the door started. Ray frowned and hurried to get the last few people’s cells opened. He got everyone out of the cages, except the last two, like Griffon said and moved toward a huge big wall. The gargoyle and cyclops were on the other side of the door running their shoulders into the door to get it opened now. Ray remembered a Minotaur among the faces of and turned to find him in the crowd. He spotted the huge giant easily and yelled back to him.

 

 

“Hey! Think you can bust a hole through this wall?”

 

 

The Minotaur nodded once, and the crowd of people opened to let him through. He took a few steps back from the wall, huffing once before running full force at the wall, making huge hole when the dust cleared. The banging was getting louder and louder and the door was starting to bend in half more the strength of the two beasts. People started running, flying, or slithering away through the hole and when Ray and Lindsay stepped out they were met with the confused faces of their rescue group. Ray smiled wide as he ran toward Joel full force, knocking him onto the ground with the force of the tackle hug. Michael and Gavin ran forward to hug Lindsay while Ray was occupied. The other four looked on with smiles and grins. Geoff watched them all with a smile too, but his nerves were end. It shouldn’t be this easy. All this preparation couldn’t have been for nothing. And just as the thought crossed his mind, the door flung off the hinges and the plants sent a silent apology to Kerry for not be able to hold the door anymore. The door would’ve hit Ray and Joel had they been standing and Joel blinked as the door flew passed them, hugging Ray closer to him.

 

 

“YOU LITTLE BRAT. I GIVE YOU ALL THIS POWER AND OPPORTUNITY AND YOU CHOOSE THOSE WEAK HUMANS?!?”

 

 

~-~

 

 


	14. Make It End - Final Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers~! Sorry this took so long but I wanted to finish this before I posted anything else! So this story is finally done and I'll be posting the last three chapters including the epilogue! Thank you guys for all the kudos and comments and just reading my story and being patient with me! I hope you guys enjoy~! :)

 

 

~_~

 

 

Ray stood up and helped Joel up before he turned to face the monster that started all of this.

 

 

“If you think…that THIS...”

 

 

Ray gestured to his new friends and Lindsay before continuing.

 

 

“…Is opportunity…then you must be more crazy than I first thought. I’m not your little play thing and neither is anybody else on this planet you sick f*ck!”

 

 

The 14 people stood in a group, ready for battle when Griffon flew out behind Matthew.

 

 

“Fae! Why didn’t you prepare me for this?!”

 

 

Griffon’s eyes hardened and she flew over to stand next to Ray and shut her eyes. The galaxy in her hair seemed to be sucked into her eyes as her hair turned back to a normal blonde color. She turned back into what she looked like before but the only difference this time was her wisp-like wings were till there and her hands were completely surrounded by darkness. Then she opened her eyes and they were pitch black with stars in them. The glow she gave off was easily visible in the early morning darkness as she glared at Matthew.

 

 

“Matthew Alexander Johnson. You’ve always had an obsession with mythical creatures ever since you were just a little boy and your dream was to make them real. Looks like you finally achieved your dream, through sick and twisted ways that are going to end today. I set them free and-”

 

 

She paused looking back at the rest of them with a smile before continuing.

 

 

“… _We_ will defeat you.”

 

 

Matthew frowned turning toward the cyclops to his right.

 

 

“Go get the beasts and humans.”

 

 

The cyclops nodded and turned to leave but Griffon smirked as she said

 

 

“That won’t be necessary. They’ve been moved to a safer place.”

 

 

Matthew growled again, forgetting that she could see everything he was going to do.

 

 

“Fine. If you want a fight then a fight is what you’ll get.”

 

 

He ripped off his white jacket and cracked his knuckles. His eyes turned a deep red color as his fangs popped out.

 

 

“Charles you take the humans and you take the ungrateful little brats. The fae is all mine.”

 

 

The gargoyle and cyclops nodded once and lunged forward.

 

 

Ray shifted into his dragon form, shocking everyone as he let out an ear shattering roar.

 

 

“LET’S F*CK SH*T UP.”

 

 

Lindsay grinned and went down on all fours, her tails whipping wildly behind her as her eyes turned red and into slits just like a fox and her nails grew into sharp claws. Jeremy and Matt both gave a roar of their own and Jon stood at attention, water swirling around him rapidly. Griffon stood tall and unafraid in front of Matthew who looked at her annoyed and angry. The rescue group stood in a line in front of the gargoyle, nobody taking their eyes off of the other. And with another roar from Ray, the fight started.

 

 

The rescue group had their guns at the ready as the Gargoyle sprinted at them full force. Joel got the first hit off, shooting the beast in the shoulder before it could hit them. It let out a horrible sound as it’s shoulder started to steam and burn marks appeared. It looked more wild and angry after that, roaring out loud before it charged at Joel. Geoff and Jack drenched his back in water though and it fell to the ground as it’s back burned and steamed. Joel sprayed the beast in the face as it kneeled in front of him and it let out that horrible noise again as it clutched it’s face, but Joel didn’t stop until the water had not only melted away the hands that covered the beast’s face but the head was gone as well, leaving the body to thump lifelessly onto the ground. Joel stared at the body for a second before Geoff laid a hand on his back, making Joel’s eyes shift up to his, and nodded toward Ray and the others still fighting the cyclops. Joel blinked and nodded and they turned their attention to helping Ray, Lindsay and their new friends.

 

 

After Ray’s roar, the cyclops rushed forward too but Lindsay was faster, disappearing and reappearing next to it only to punch the cyclops in the face hard. The cyclops howled as it flew the other direction from the hit, but they didn’t give it time to hit the ground as Jon formed a fist of water and knocked it back the direction Lindsay punched it from. This time it hit the ground with a thud and Ray grinned as the cyclops huffed angrily, standing up and growling at them. Ray flew forward with Matt right next to him, the two circling the cyclops with fire and ice, both elements burning the cyclops in different ways. When they finished it had patches of black everywhere, some from the fire and some from the ice. Ray and Matt flew back to their group just as the rescue team joined forces with them to finish off the cyclops. Jeremy howled to the sky as he rushed forward and started a brawl with the cyclops. Scratches, punches, and clawed jabs were exchanged before Jeremy gave him an uppercut that sent the beast flying. Kerry and Jon acted quickly, holding him there with vines and water as Michael sprayed the cyclops with the holy water in the face. It, too, melted away leaving behind a lifeless body.

 

 

They didn’t have much time to relax though when they heard Griffon scream. They rushed over to her, only to find her holding her side with wide eyes, black liquid was leaking out of the semi deep cut. The darkness surrounding her hands were disappeared as Geoff got to her first. “Griffon! Griffon are you alright?!”

 

 

Ray stood in front of the two, blocking Matthew from trying anything while Geoff assessed the situation.

 

 

“I- I didn’t see it coming…How..?” She mumbled to herself before she held up her pale hand now covered in her own black blood and stared at it. “I’m- I’m so confused…”

 

 

Geoff didn’t know what to say. If she hadn’t seen this happening, then what was going on? Wasn’t she supposed to be able to see the future? Griffon frowned, placing both her hands over the wound as they turn a bright white and after a minute the wound sealed itself up and she stood a little shaken with the help of Geoff. She squinted at Matthew in suspicion before she went over what happened again and suddenly it clicked. Matthew smirked back at her widened eyes. “So you’ve finally figured it out have you?”

 

 

Griffon’s face slowly slipped into rage as the glow surrounding her started to glow so bright it was almost blinding. “WHERE IS SHE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER YOU B*STARD!?”

 

 

The group watched on in confusion before a smaller lady appeared next to Matthew. She was almost as pale as Griffon but her long hair was a dark grey color and she had wings that looked like black holes floating behind here. She was tied up and her mouth was taped shut floating next to Matthew, like there was no gravity at all. When she opened her eyes they were just like Griffon’s except the galaxy in her eyes were filled with shades of blue and purple and stars. She saw Griffon and her eyes widened before she started to struggle to get to her.

 

 

“This is my back up Fae, just in case my first one didn’t want to act properly.”

 

 

Griffon’s light was getting more blinding by the second, building up like her rage. “LET HER GO THIS INSTANT! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THIS TO HER!!”

 

 

Matthew just smirked “Try beating me now, you ungrateful fae!” Griffon frowned before she closed her eyes and the darkness surrounding her hands started to fluctuate. “CAITI HOLD ON!”

 

 

The woman now named Caiti screamed through the tape, trying to tell her something but knew it was futile with her mouth still covered. Griffon looked up at Ray as she spoke “We have to save her. Please help me save her.”

 

 

Ray nodded once and turned to Lindsay. Lindsay didn’t even have to be asked before she was sprouting out a plan. Before Lindsay could even start to form a thought Caiti’s eyes turned bright white as she stopped struggling in her bounds. “You can’t do anything to stop me now. I know exactly what you are planning before you even plan it. There is no way to defeat me now.“ Matthew smirked at them as Caiti floated beside him seemingly frozen still and definitely not in control of herself anymore.

 

 

Griffon frowned before she nodded to herself. “Once we get Caiti free from his grasp then we have a better chance of getting rid of him. Just follow my lead. Don’t think just do. That’s the only way around Caiti’s vision. She’s not as advanced as me because he didn’t give her enough time to get a hold of her powers, thankfully. So I repeat, _do not think_. She’s still there so she might help us out a bit but I don’t know how far his mind control goes for her. We can do this.”

 

 

The group nodded and stood at attention. This was gonna be one hell of a fight. Griffon was practically lighting up the early morning darkness, the light making Matthew shy away a bit but not wanting them to know that he still had the same weaknesses he fought his reflex to lean away from the light. Joel glanced at his watch, seeing the sun would be coming up in a few minutes, giving them another advantage against Matthew.

 

 

After a tense moment, Lindsay shot off like a rocket landing a punch to Matthews face before she was shooting off to the side and away from Matthew. He cursed, baring his fangs with a hiss at Lindsay, lunging for her only to be hit with a fist of water from Jon. This was how it went on for a few minutes, sometimes Matthew dodged sometimes he took a hit from one of the mutants until Griffon managed a left hook into his face, the light of her rage burning his body wherever it touched making Matthew hiss in pain, fleeing back into the hole in the building right as the sun started to rise.

 

 

“Give it up Matthew! There’s no way you can fight in the sun without burning up.” Ray flapped his wings hard, throwing a gust of wind at the building and exposing more of the inside to the sun. Matthew shrunk back more, frowning as he got further and further from Caiti.

 

 

“Jack!” Griffon called and he didn’t have to be told what to do as he raced forward and grabbed Caiti floating gently and pulled her back to their side, out in the sun. Jack untied her quickly and gently took the tape off her mouth and he had to take a moment to stare at her as she came back to herself. She was absolutely beautiful, her lips covered in what looked like black lipstick with white glitter and her dark grey hair had stopped floating above her and now fell around her shoulders in curls.

 

 

“A-are you okay?”

 

 

Caiti blinked once before she smiled up at Jack and he almost forgot how to breathe. “Y-yes, thank you Jack.”

 

 

Jack returned her smile and helped her stand as she made her way over to Griffon. “The sun, Griffon. We got to get him in the sun.”

 

 

Griffon nodded, smiling over at her before glaring back at Matthew who continued to scoot further back in the shade of the building as the sun got higher in the sky. “Lindsay I’m gonna need your speed. Ray, Matt and Jeremy block the building once we get him out. Jon and Kerry I’m gonna need you to hold on to Matthew once he’s outside the building. The rest of you with the holy water, you know what to do. On my signal, Lindsay charges.” Lindsay nodded once, already on all fours and ready to pounce. There was a tense second before Matthew took a step forward and Griffon yelled “NOW!”

 

 

Lindsay disappeared in a flash before she was grabbing a hold of Matthew and slinging him into the middle of the field behind the building and into the sun. Kerry and Jon didn’t waste time grabbing a hold of Matthew with vines and water, keeping him a prisoner of the sun as Ray grew into his normal size and blocked the hole in the building while Matt and Jeremy stood in front of him. The rescue team immediately drenched Matthew with the holy water from all angles while Caiti and Griffon stood in their place and watched with cold glares.

 

 

Nothing was heard but the screaming of Matthew, simultaneously burning from the sun’s light and the holy water covering him. The two fae floated off the ground as the galaxy in their eyes seemed to cover their entire body before it settled on Griffon’s arms like tattoos and on Caiti’s leg in the shape of a heart. Caiti’s hair turned a light brown color and Griffon’s went back to the blonde she was born with. Griffon’s eyes returned to the same blue color and Caiti’s eyes turned into a shade of blue green before Matthew finally fired to a crisp, his body falling into ashes on the ground. It was so quick that, everyone held their breath for a moment, almost afraid that the ashes would come back to life and somehow manage to bring Matthew back to life but even after they stood there for another minute, the ashes blew away with the wind and all was quiet until Caiti turned to Griffon, her eyes watering as she finally looked up from where the ashes had been and whispered “We did it..”

 

 

Griffon looked up as well and smiled as tears sprang to her eyes as well and she repeated “We did it.”

 

 

And Caiti rushed forward pulling Griffon into a hug that seemed to pull everyone else out their trance and Ray shrunk back down to human size, flying over to tackle a very confused but relieved Joel to the ground again, Michael and Gavin rushed over to Lindsay again, Miles awkwardly shuffled over to see if Kerry was okay, Adam, Blaine and Ryan checked on Matt, Jeremy and Jon while Geoff and Jack wanted to check on the two hugging fae’s but didn’t want to interrupt their reunion so they stood close by.

 

 

Joel smiled wide as he held Ray close. “I wish I had clothes so I could turn back into my human body..I wanna kiss you.”

 

 

Joel laughed and kissed his dragon on the top of his head. “I forgot all about that...Well, we’ll have plenty of time to kiss on the way back to Texas.”

 

 

Ray grinned kissing Joel on the cheek. “Plenty of time indeed.”

 

 

A moment of silence passed before Ray lifted his head from Joel’s chest and smiled. “I really missed you so much..”

 

 

Joel smiled back at him “I missed you too, Ray…so so much. I- I love you Ray.”

 

 

And Ray’s eyes widened because this was the first time either of them had said those words to each other. But quickly getting down from his shock Ray nuzzled his snout under Joel’s chin as he said “I love you too.”

 

 

~-~

 

 

Miles found his eye’s immediately drawn to the elf who could control plants and before he could stop himself he was shuffling over to him. The elf looked up at him as he noticed he was approaching and Miles sucked in a breath at the beautiful shade of green that stared back at him. Swallowing thickly, Miles gathered any courage he had left and spoke as he stepped up to him, noticing how much shorter he was then himself. “H-hey, uh- are you alright?”

 

 

The elf sent him a sweet smile and Miles’ heart rate sped up. “Y-yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”

 

 

Miles nodded and after a moment he chuckled to himself and the elf looked up, smiling a bit at the sound. “Sorry, I uh forgot to introduce myself. I’m Miles Luna.” Miles held out a hand for the elf to shake and when he did Miles tried hard not to think about how perfectly his tiny hands fit in his.

 

 

“I’m Kerry Shawcross. It’s nice to meet you Miles.” And his smile shined brighter than the sun in the sky and Miles was having trouble breathing and his heart was about to pound out of his chest.

 

 

He returned Kerry’s bright grin with a smile of his own as he said “It’s nice to meet you too.” Kerry looked away shyly from his gaze, blush settling lightly on his cheeks as their hands slipped out of each other’s grasp. And as Miles stared at Kerry he knew this little, cute elf would change his life.

 

 

~_~

 

 

Matt rushed over to Jeremy when he noticed he was holding his head, worried and frazzled. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

 

 

Jeremy blinked and looked up at Matt before he smiled kindly at him, blushing a bit from the attention. “Y-yeah. I’m okay.”

 

 

He was still in his werewolf form so he shifted back to his human form, showing the clear height difference between him and Matt.

 

 

“You uh- You did good back there..” Matt grinned down at him and Jeremy blushed again at the praise.

 

 

“T-thanks Matt.”

 

 

And then before they could get any more into the conversation Jon wondered over “You two okay?”

 

 

They nodded and Matt felt his heart beat a little faster when he realized Jeremy didn’t blush at Jon’s concern, only his, and that brought a smile to his face as Adam, Blaine and Ryan walked over to the three.

 

 

~_~

 

 

After the two girls pulled back from the hug and wiped away the silvery tears running down both of their faces, Griffon smiled widely at her as she said softly “I’m glad you’re okay, now go on.”

 

Caiti smiled back at her “You too.” And to Jack and Geoff’s surprise, Caiti walked up to Jack and smiled sweetly up at him. “Hi, Jack.”

 

Jack blinked before he smiled down at her “Hi, Caiti.” And then the two laughed at how awkward they were and somehow Jack ended up holding Caiti’s hands in the frenzy of laughs and as they calmed down, the smiled widely at each other. Yeah, Caiti could see the future and she was so happy to have Jack be a part of that.

 

 

~-~

 

 

Griffon watched her for a moment before she stepped up to Geoff with a smile. “You did great, Geoff.”

 

 

Geoff smiled back at Griffon, easily getting lost in those pretty blue eyes. “You too, Griffon.”

 

 

Griffon couldn’t keep the smile off her face if she wanted to. “Thank you.”

 

 

Geoff was smiling so wide and Griffon couldn’t help but laugh at just how happy Geoff was. “Hey Griffon?”

 

 

“Hm?”

 

 

“I uh- I really like you.” And Griffon smiled bigger than before as she said “I really like you too, Geoff.”

 

 

Geoff was grinning ear to ear now, but it falter a little at a thought. “Does that- Does that mean you’ll come visit me in Texas?”

 

 

Griffon giggled and Geoff felt his frown lift a bit at the sound. “I’m from Texas, but I’m pretty sure the apartment I had is no longer mine.”

 

 

Geoff lit up, not even hiding his excitement “You can stay with me! Uh- That is if you want too.”

 

 

Griffon giggled again at Geoff nervous behavior “I’d love too.”

 

 

~-~ 

 

 

And as the sun rose high into the sky, the group walked back to the rescue group’s hotel room, the newly formed couples grinning widely at each other, the new friends laughing and joking together, the yet to form couples sending shy smiles and giving quick looks to each other and the couple that started this all was right in front of the group, Ray shrunk down to the size of a mouse resting on Joel’s shoulder, just in case anyone happened to glance their way. Ray grinned on his perch on Joel’s shoulder, nuzzling into the side of Joel’s neck as he got comfortable. Yeah, maybe they had to hide their powers from others for the rest of their lives but as Ray glanced back at Caiti and Jack, Geoff and Griffon & Kerry and Miles he knew they’d always have a home right there in Rooster Teeth.

 

 

~-~

 

 


	15. Monster No More - Epilogue -

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers~! Sorry this took so long but I wanted to finish this before I posted anything else! So this story is finally done and I'll be posting the last three chapters including the epilogue! Thank you guys for all the kudos and comments and just reading my story and being patient with me! I hope you guys enjoy~! :) This is set about 4 or 5 years about the whole battle.

 

 

~-~

 

 

Ray laughed hard as Michael leaps into Jack’s empty desk making a voice that sounded nothing like Jack as he shook all the contents of the desk. They were filming an episode of GO! And it had only just started and they were already off topic. But Ray just laughed again as the topic of a missing Jack, most likely with the lovely Caiti, moved on to the actual challenge. This show didn’t allow you to think for long periods of time so, Ray tuned back into what was being said so he could at least have a chance at winning.

 

 

As the camera’s stopped rolling and Gavin had placed his sticker on the wall, Joel slipped in quietly and laid his chin on the top of Ray’s head. Ray smiled, already knowing who it was as Joel’s arms slipped around his neck loosely in a hug from behind and he sees the simple silver band wrapped around his ring finger. “Hey babe.”

 

 

Joel smiles down at Ray’s matching silver band with roses etched into the sides before lifting his head a bit, allowing Ray to look up at him. “You ready for lunch?”

 

 

Ray grinned back up at him and nodded, putting his computer into sleep mode before Joel released Ray so he could stand. Ray and Joel left hand in hand and Michael and Gavin grin at each other before they start putting their computers in sleep mode as well. Michael pulls Gavin up, enjoying the feel of the heavy band on his and Gavin’s fingers before, they too, leave for a lunch date of their own. Ryan smiles watching them leave before, he too, pulls himself up with a sigh grabbing his keys and heading back home to a lovely little lady and his two kids for lunch as well. Geoff watches them all leave for their breaks with a small smile, so proud and so genuinely happy at the same time and then he thinks of Griffon back home with their little girl and his smile gets so much bigger. He decides a quick trip home for lunch won’t hurt as he grabs his keys and heads out the door, leaving the Achievement Hunter office empty.

 

 

~_~

 

 

Across the lot, Miles finds himself in front of his computer working hard on the newest season of Red VS Blue. Being one of the head directors now, he’d been pushing himself to live up to the previous seasons before and while it was very stressful it always paid off in the end when he’d hear the comments about how great the season was or how amazing the moves were. And to top it all off, he got to do it right next to his amazing little elf boyfriend. Speaking of boyfriends, Kerry was draping himself over Miles from behind much like Joel had done before. “You know it’s lunch time right?”

 

 

Miles frowned, not really wanting to take a break when he was in his groove. “Yeah, but I just wanted to finish this really quick.”

 

 

Miles didn’t have to look up at Kerry’s face to know he was frowning. “But I’m hungry~! And you promised to take me out to lunch today...” Kerry whined above him and Miles couldn’t help but smile as he immediately caved.

 

 

“I guess I’m a little hungry too.” He set his computer to sleep and stood, leaning down to kiss Kerry on his lips to wipe the pout off of his face and it worked. Kerry immediately blushed and smiled up at Miles as he intertwined their fingers. “Let’s go get you some food babe.” Kerry’s face heated up even more at the pet name, still not used to it even though they’d been dating for almost two years now. Miles chuckled and pulled Kerry out of the building and Kerry let himself be pulled as he smiled up at Miles. He was so glad he decided to come with Miles back to Texas. And as Miles grins back he can’t help but think that convincing Kerry to come back with him was the best decision he’d ever made.

 

 

~-~

 

 

And as for the other mutants, Jeremy, Matt, and Jon, they were quickly welcomed into the Rooster Teeth family. Jon does art work and t-shirts designs for the guys and keeps them on their toes with a splash of water every now and then. Jeremy and Matt were made a part of Achievement Hunter, helping out Kdin and Lindsay with Minecraft maps for the guys and helping Joel and Adam with ‘How To:’ videos as well. Jeremy was the one to take the next step, asking Matt out after a year and a half of pining over each other. Matt had accepted without a second thought at the two had been dating officially for almost two and a half years now.

 

 

Everything ran smoothly, or as smoothly as it can for Rooster Teeth, and everyone was happy. Ray didn’t have to look over his shoulder anymore, scared that Matthew would somehow turn up to take him back to that hell. Lindsay realized she could shape-shift so now she can shift into her normal appearance whenever she needs to be on camera. Every one found their groove, they fit together like a puzzle of weird shapes and they couldn’t think of any better way to live.

 

 

~-~

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to tell me how I did. Comments and Kudos are much appreciated!


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